A Different Kind of Darkness
by PsychedArtist
Summary: After leaving Court, Rose becomes a different kind of Darkness. With the help of a few new friends, and a few old ones, Rose wrecks havoc on Strigoi, but with all that Darkness comes Light.
1. Chapter 1

**RPOV**

"I've given up on you." His quiet voice reached me. "Love fades. Mine has."

Devastation flew through me.

I could handle anything life threw at me, but Dimitri telling me that he didn't love me anymore was the only thing that could kill me. It was his love that had kept me going the past few months. His love had fed my soul, igniting my life, and he had just extinguished it with four words. As if I were trivial and couldn't be bothered with.

I could feel the tears well in the corners of my eyes, but my vision was still sharply focused on the man in front of me. His face was hard and guarded. His eyes were locked steel cages that I no longer had a key to. As much as I wanted to believe Dimitri was lying to me, I couldn't find anything that told me otherwise.

I nodded, accepting his words.

"I understand. Goodbye, Dimitri." I whispered as I rose from the pew and turned to leave. The tears that had built in my eyes had retreated and a numb feeling spread through my being. I pushed my way through the church doors into the night. It was still warm, but my body felt cold.

I went back to my room and started packing without a second thought. I was leaving. I couldn't be here anymore. I needed a fresh start, with new people, away from Court. I tried to feel optimistic. I tried to feel nervous. I tried to feel any emotion, but I felt nothing.

There was a knock on my door, which I promptly ignored until the knocking turned into banging. I opened the door to find Adrian standing there, his eyes wide and hair rumpled, more than usual.

"Thank God! Lissa said that something was wrong with the bond." He said looking me over. "Are you okay?" He asked finding nothing physically wrong with me, I'm assuming he checked my aura. He glanced over my shoulder and took in the state of my room. I'd just finished packing when he showed up, so all of my stuff was either in a box or in a suitcase.

"What do you want, Adrian?" He looked back at me with concern written on his face.

"What's wrong, Rose? Where are you going?" His face fell.

"I'm leaving. I can't be here anymore." I stated simply.

"Where are you going to go?" I shrugged in response. To be fair, I hadn't actually thought about where I was going, only that I needed to leave as soon as possible. I guess I could just call my dad, Abe Mazur, and figure out a plan once I was out of Court.

"I'm going to call Dad, and with his help, I'm leaving." His face fell further.

"You're leaving. Are you just going to leave? Are you going to leave Lissa? Your life here? You're going to leave me?"

"You and I both know that it wasn't going to work out between us, Adrian. Please don't act surprised." I answered monotonously. I should have been more gentle. There was no emotion in my voice because there was no emotion in me. "So, if you don't mind, I've got a few calls to make."

I didn't wait for a response before I quickly shut the door in his face. I moved back into my room, finding my phone and dialing my father.

"Hey, Dad," I said when he picked up, trying to put what I thought was emotion in my voice. "I need to get out of Court. Could you help me out?"

"Leave it to me, Kiz. Meet me at the airstrip in thirty minutes." I nodded, knowing he couldn't see me and hung up. That was something I liked about Abe, he didn't ask too many questions, especially when it came to me. If I was asking him to do something for myself, it had to be important, otherwise, I wouldn't ask.

With the time I had left, I dialed the number to Guardian Headquarters to talk to Hans. I was put on hold for a few minutes before Hans' deep voice was transmitted through the receiver.

"Hathaway. What can I do for you?" He asked in a formal tone, though I detected a trace of friendliness.

"I'm taking a leave of absence. I'm calling to inform you. I don't know when I'll be back, or if I'll ever be back, so you'll need to find a suitable replacement for Princess Dragomir. When he gets his Guardian title back, I suggest Belikov, until then you might want more than one person guarding her at all times." I finished speaking waiting for a response.

"Rose. What's going on?" The concern was evident in his voice. Hans and I hadn't always gotten along, but he knew I wouldn't just leave Lissa, not without a reason.

"I'm leaving Court, and I don't know when I'll be back. I'm due to leave in less than twenty minutes. When I'm settled, I'll send over the official paperwork, but until then, know that I'll not be here." He stayed silent for a minute longer.

"I wish you luck, Guardian Hathaway. Know that when you return, your position will be restored." I thanked him and hung up. I wondered if I should leave something for Lissa, but I couldn't find it within me to put words to my lack of emotions. Adrian had said that Lissa felt something wrong through the bond, but I didn't wait to hear what it was. Perhaps the bond was starting to work the other way.

I took a marker out of my purse and labeled the top of my two boxes that held my belongings with my father's address in Turkey. I didn't know if that was where I was going to be going, in fact, I hoped it wasn't. If I left his address, someone I knew would probably show up there. Shipping the boxes there would give me the chance to get them to their final destination, on which I was still deciding.

I grabbed my duffle bag and slung it over my shoulder. With my phone, purse, and suitcase in hand, I left my room being sure to leave it unlocked behind me. I started my walk to the airstrip where my father would be waiting.

I received some odd looks from a few Moroi I passed on the way there. I didn't see any Guardians until I reached the airstrip. I saw my father waiting at the base of a set of stairs that led up to his awaiting plane. When he saw me, he stepped forward, wordlessly, giving me a quick hug before taking my suitcase from me and motioning toward the stairs.

I entered the plane wordlessly, seating myself in one of the plush chairs and turned to look out at Court. With the efficiency only Abe Mazur could manage, we were cleared for takeoff. I'd buckled in and was still staring out the window when we started taxiing.

Off in the distance, I could see people running toward the airstrip, but they were quickly stopped by the Guardians waiting there. Upon closer inspection, I could see it was Lissa, Christian, Adrian, and Eddie. Lissa had tears running down her face while she clung to Christian who was barely able to hold her up. Adrian looked like he was barely holding it together, while Christian and Eddie were looking just as distraught but without the tears.

Adrian and Eddie were still trying to fight off the Guardians holding them back when Dimitri burst through all of them. He was running at a full sprint like he could catch up to the plane that was already rushing down the runway. Guardians were chasing after him, both the ones stationed at the airport and those that were still assigned to him.

I turned away from them when I saw Dimitri fall to his knees. I stared at the seat in front of me, willing myself to feel something, anything. But nothing came. I was numb to the world.

I dug deep, hoping to find something that still made me me, but all I found was Lissa's Darkness. I clung to it like it was the only thing keeping me alive. To tell you the truth, it probably was. The Darkness was the only thing that remained intact from who I used to be. Everything else had changed, only the Darkness remained the same.

As I embraced the familiarity, I felt at peace. A calmness spread throughout my body, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"So, where to, Kiz?" My father asked from across the aisle where he'd seated himself.

"I'm not sure. I'm having the rest of my belongings shipped to Turkey, but I don't want to go there in case someone comes looking." I stated. "I have a few things that I want to learn before I'm ready to do what I know I want to do."

"What's that?"

"I want to go hunting," I said plainly.

"Hunting?" He repeated in a question. "For Strigoi?" I nodded.

"I want to learn different ways to fight. I want to learn how to use a sword." I told him, his expression was unreadable so I continued. "I was thinking if I could get in touch with Sydney again, that she could help with the bodies, but also knowing what kinds of weapons work better than a stake."

"This is what you want?" Abe asked after thinking a little bit. I only nodded in response. "Then we're going to New York. I've got a house out in one of the suburbs and you can either take a bus or the subway into the city when you're ready to hunt. If I'm feeling generous I'll even get you a vehicle."

"Thanks, Dad," I responded with a small smile on my face.

"Anything for you, Rose."

"Oh, also, please don't tell anyone else, at least other than those that _need_ to know. Mom will probably call in a tizzy, wanting to know where I am. She'll probably be disappointed that I just left my responsibilities, but I couldn't be there anymore."

"I understand. I won't tell anyone where you are, and my Guardians are sworn to secrecy." As if on cue, Pavel came out from wherever he had been hiding and sat next to me, directly across the aisle from my father.

"Don't worry, Rose. You'll be safe with us." He said pulling me into a hug, making me feel considerably better.

"I'm not worried. I've got you two, what more could I need?" With the Darkness swirling inside me, my emotions had returned, though nothing too powerful.

Neither Dad nor Pavel asked me what had taken place at Court, for which I was grateful. It didn't hurt to think about, but something told me that I didn't want to voice any of my thoughts.

We hadn't been in the air very long, just over an hour, before the pilot informed us that we would be landing soon.

"We're going to be landing at a private terminal at JFK and meet with a driver who will take us out to the house," Pavel explained.

"Where is the house? You said in a suburb of New York City, but which one?"

"The Hamptons."

"You own a house in The Hamptons?" I asked shocked, though when I thought about it, I really shouldn't have been.

"Yep!" He responded proudly. "I hope you'll enjoy it."

"I'm sure I will." We didn't speak again on the flight. We landed with little fuss and exited the plane. Used to the openness of Montana and the secluded location of Court, the air around me was stifling. I felt like I was being suffocated. I tried not to feel panicked, but the air was so thick that I couldn't help but feel trapped. Abe gently placed his hand on the small of my back, pushing me forward toward the waiting car. In the distance, I could see the busy hub of the main airport terminals, but out here, it was more or less peaceful allowing me to calm down a little.

I climbed into the back of the awaiting SUV where Abe placed himself beside me. Pavel took the seat next to the driver and without a word of instruction, we were off, working our way out of the airport traffic and into the normal, everyday New York traffic. The further we drove, the less traffic there was. Eventually, it became rare to see another car passing us.

Two and a half hours after we left the airport, we were pulling up to a very large house. The house's walls were practically all glass, allowing the light of the day to filter through the house. There wasn't another house around so it was completely private.

Even from the front, I could see the beach in the back. I felt a smile forming on my face as I stepped out of the car.

"This is amazing, Dad."

"I'm glad you like it." He said, looking pleased with himself. He started moving to the door.

"The glass filters out most of the UV rays so it's completely safe for your father during the day," Pavel explained as he walked beside me, a few paces behind Dad. "It's easier to defend than it looks. We have the occasional Strigoi but most don't travel this far down the beach. We'll be running on human-time here."

I nodded and followed along as Abe gave a quick tour of the whole house. While it looked huge from the outside, and it was _huge_ , most of the interior was open space, so there wasn't too much to show. The upper two floors were all bedrooms, each equipped with a set of blinds that could be lowered to block out the light.

Abe let me choose my bedroom.

"I'm not attached to any of them. I don't use this house often." I nodded and chose a room toward the center of the house that had a fantastic view of the beach in the backyard. The room was large, as was every room in this house. The bed was king-sized, with a black duvet. The wood of the bed frame was a dry brushed white. Around the room, the accessories that were scattered where various shades of black and white. It had a very modern feel to it.

There were a walk-in closet and an en-suite bathroom, both were about half the size of the main room. The bed was facing the wall of windows off to the left while there was a small seating area centered around an electric fireplace off to the right. The dresser was on the other side of the bed with the door that led to the closet on one side, and the door that led to the bathroom on the other. I sat my suitcase down beside the bed and went to stand in front of the windows.

Off in the distance, I could see small sailboats bobbing on the open water, seagulls circling overhead. The faint sound of waves filtered into the room. I closed my eyes, letting my other senses take over. This place was peaceful. The entirety of it all matching my new demeanor.

I felt the Darkness take away any uneasy feelings I had about leaving Lissa. There was nothing for me there, now. Dimitri cut the last thread that had been holding me. _This_ is where I needed to be. I needed to be in the action. I wasn't one to sit back and wait for the threat to come to me.

But I wasn't ready for the threat, yet. I needed to train. I could train often and intensely here, and not bother or be bothered by anyone. Abe had told me that other Guardians would arrive tomorrow in order to keep him protected. He said that he was going to operate his businesses out of this house until I was comfortable enough to live here by myself. This would be _my_ home.

I decided to check on the bond. Earlier, I had momentarily felt Lissa trying to push her way through so she could talk to me, but I'd built my barriers too high and too thick, my mind was impenetrable. I laid back on the plush bed, sinking in.

I closed my eyes and allowed myself to feel Lissa. She was back at the house that she shared with Christian. Eddie and Adrian were seated across from her while Christian had wrapped her in his arms. What surprised me the most was that Dimitri was there, seated against a wall with tears rolling down his face. He'd long since pulled his Guardian Mask on, but the pain was evident in his eyes. It was odd to see such emotion on his face.

"Do you have any idea where she could have gone?" Lissa asked looking over at Adrian. He looked like he could use a drink, but I'm assuming that he hadn't touched alcohol since I told him I was leaving almost six hours ago. He was probably trying to say sober in order to contact me when I fell asleep, but something told me he wasn't going to reach me.

"She said that she was going to call her father. She didn't explain why she was leaving, just that she couldn't be here anymore." He said with tears in his eyes. "I don't understand why she just left."

"I don't either." Lissa sobbed out. "Did she say anything to you, Dimitri?"

Dimitri didn't look up from the spot he had found on the carpet, but he shook his head, another tear rolled across his cheek.

"Have you felt anything through the bond, again, Liss?" Christian asked from beside her.

"Not since the pain I told you about earlier. After that, it's like I was shut out. I can't feel her at all. I'm not used to this feeling that I'm having, like I'm incomplete." She sniffled. "But I feel better than I ever have. It's a weird sensation, like I don't have the ability to feel complete sadness or depression anymore."

Her tears were still flowing, though. However, there wasn't any sadness in her, but she felt horrible because I was gone and she couldn't feel sad about it.

"Your aura doesn't have an ounce of Darkness in it," Adrian told her. "In fact, it's the brightest aura I've ever seen, well, almost."

"What does that mean?"

"It probably means that Rose is taking all of your Darkness, constantly if you ask me." His look turned worried as he voiced his theory. "She's taking _all_ the Darkness. What's that going to do to her?"

"How do I stop it?" Lissa asked frantically.

"I don't think you can."

"But she can't take it all, she'll go crazy!" Dimitri's head turned toward the conversation after Adrian's revelation, and his face looked anguished. More tears threatened to spring from his eyes, but he kept them back. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, he got up from his spot and bowed.

"Princess Dragomir, Lord Ivashkov, Lord Ozera. If you'll excuse me, I'm tired and am going to retire for the night." Without waiting for a response, he left, closely followed by his assigned Guardians.

"What happened between them?" Lissa asked as soon as Dimitri had left. "He's the only reason she would have left. He keeps saying that he doesn't know, but I could feel his guilt."

"She went to church to see him this morning, but other than that, only he and she knows," Adrian explained looking a little angry, though he mostly looked troubled. "I'll try contacting her when I feel her sleep, but that's the best we can do. She left her stuff here to be shipped to her father's house in Turkey, but she turned her phone off."

"We're going to find her, right?" Lissa asked sniffling.

"We will, Liss." Eddie finally spoke up. He didn't look as worse for the wear as the others, but Eddie had always been good at covering his emotions. They all sat in silence, and I decided to leave.

Coming back to myself, I let my mind wander. I followed wherever it went. To my surprise, it didn't think about any of my friends or the love of my life. My mind went straight to training. I'd have to talk with Abe about acquiring a few new weapons before I really started, but until then I could still run and spar with some of his Guardians.

I hauled myself off the comfortable bed, grabbed some sleep clothes out of my suitcase, and made my way into the bathroom. I stood under the spray of hot water, allowing the events of today to be washed down the drain. I was a new me. I felt different because I _was_ different.

Everyone was afraid for me because they thought the Darkness was dangerous. The only thing dangerous about the Darkness was when you tried to hold it back. After I'd let myself be absorbed by it, I was at peace. I could control it, not the other way around. I felt fewer emotions but more power.

Tomorrow would be a new day, a new life. I went to sleep knowing that I was putting everyone and everything from my past life behind me. All I needed was here in this home, well at least once Sydney got here.

Tomorrow I was going to become a different kind of Darkness, and this one would need to be feared.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up feeling better than I had in three years. Ever since the bond was formed with Lissa, I'd never been my own person. I was always being controlled by something. First, it was duty, duty to the Moroi and duty to Lissa. Then it was the Darkness, I lived in fear and allowed the fear to control me. Lastly, I was controlled by emotions. Emotions for Dimitri and what we once had. However, letting the Darkness spread through me, put me in control and rid me of the useless emotions that had controlled me.

I'm not saying that I'm completely emotionless. I could still feel anger and hatred, happiness and pleasure. But the positive emotions were dulled and the negative emotions could be intensified, which would probably help in fighting. I tried to find an ability to love, but the more I turned inward, the more I found the negative emotions residing – love was nowhere to be found. Just as well, considering mine had died less than twenty-four hours ago.

The morning rays were slowly filtering in through the wall of windows. I couldn't remember a time when I'd naturally awoke before the sun was up, but I wasn't feeling tired in the slightest. I felt refreshed and ready to start the day.

I got up and dressed in running shorts and a sports bra. I grabbed my phone and headphones. As I made my way downstairs, I turned on my phone. There were numerous missed calls and text messages. I ignored them, blocking the numbers of those that were trying to reach me. I plugged in my headphones and turned on my running playlist. I exited the back door and made my way down the path that led to the beach.

Running on sand was a little more difficult than running on an even surface, but if I could run at my normal pace on sand, I would be able to run even faster on a solid foundation. I hadn't bothered to put on shoes because sand was going to get all over my feet anyway. I started running toward the back of the beach, furthest from the shoreline, but slowly worked my way to the water's edge. The cool water lapped at my feet as it rhythmically slapped against the wet sand.

My playlist had started with slower tempos and was now working up to the more upbeat songs. I'd run past dozens of houses as I ran to the end of the island, turned around, and started my way back to the house. From what I could tell, most residents weren't up this early. However, there was the occasional elderly couple that had seated themselves on the back porch, sipping coffee and watching the sunrise. When I noticed them, I would give a friendly wave, which was always returned.

The sun had been fully over the horizon for a little while when I finally made it back to the house. Pavel was just coming out the back door when I reached the start of the path leading up to it.

"Rose!" He greeted enthusiastically. "You're up early. How far did you run?"

"Hey, Pavel. I ran from here to the end of the island and back."

"That's like forty miles!" He exclaimed in dismay.

"Is it? It didn't feel that far." I said scratching the back of my neck. "I've been up before the sun. I'm just going down to the gym to finish a workout then I'm going to have breakfast. Do you want to join me, or would you like to do your run?"

"I think I'll go for a quick run and then I'll meet you down there." He said, still looking a little dazed. I was impressed with myself, too, but the forty miles that I had run didn't feel like anything. My body was still getting warmed up and I was ready for the combat portion of my workout, but I decided to lift weights until Pavel came down. When he got down here, we could spar.

Making my way to the basement, the house was still quiet. I assumed that Pavel and I were the only two awake at the moment, which wasn't too surprising given it was barely eight in the morning. The familiar scent of vinyl and sweat assaulted my senses as I walked into the gym. Three-quarters of the basement was taken up by machines and open space for sparring. There were staking dummies lining the back wall and a few fire-resistant ones in the back corner. I knew my father specialized mainly in earth magic, but that didn't mean that was the only magic he could do.

Maybe I could find a Moroi that was interested in combat. The more I thought of the idea, the more I wanted it to happen. However, I don't think I would want to work with anyone else. Putting myself in danger was one thing, but asking another, a Moroi, to put their life on the line was something I wasn't willing to do. I may have left Court and abandoned my life there, but I would not abandon my morals. I would not put a Moroi life or any life at risk.

I moved across the gym to one of the rowing machines and set my normal weight. The first pull, which is usually the hardest, felt like nothing, and I ended up yanking the handles back with little effort. I sat in momentary shock before adding more weight. I kept adding more weight until the pull felt like it normally did. I ended up adding more than double the weight than I usually row, I just about maxed the machine.

The Darkness was pumping through my veins, making itself known. With every beat of my heart, I felt the Darkness feeding my muscles, aiding my power. Thirty minutes of rowing was still doing nothing for me. I didn't know how to get that burn I usually did when exercising, but I found myself craving it, and I pushed myself further.

I'd moved on to the pull-down bar, utilizing all of the weights that it allowed me. When Pavel entered the room, I was just starting to feel my muscles tense from the strain. I glanced over my shoulder at him, his shirt was drenched in sweat and his hair was plastered to his forehead as he brought a water bottle to his lips. I could see his breath was still a little labored, whereas mine was still steady.

I gently released the bar, careful not to be lifted by it. I stood from my seat, walking over to my own water. I watched wordlessly as Pavel stretched his leg muscles before moving to his arm muscles. When he was finished stretching, he looked over at me.

"You ready to spar?" He asked with a smirk, which I returned.

"I was born ready." My body ached for the physical challenge of sparring.

We both walked over to a sparring mat in the middle of the room. I shifted my right foot backwards, bending my knees and keeping the weight evenly distributed between the two balls of my feet. My hands were balled in loose fists, my left at chin level, my right by my sternum. My elbows were away from my ribcage, but close enough to keep them protected. My shoulders were pulled back and relaxed, and my smirk was still firmly in place.

I silently observed Pavel's position. It was similar to my own; however, more of his weight was on his right leg than his left. His elbows defended his left side more securely than his right, and his left shoulder was more tense than his right. He was at least seven inches taller than me, but far from the tallest man I'd ever sparred against. He gave a slight nod of his head, indicating to begin.

My right leg swung out and connected with his left shoulder with a force that sent him stumbling to the mat. I wasted no time simulating a stake thrust from behind as he tried to right himself.

"Well, that didn't last long." He grumbled. "Again?"

I only nodded, and we lowered ourselves back into our positions. Again, he nodded his head slightly. This time he sent his left fist flying straight toward my head, but I saw it coming almost as soon as his arm started moving. I moved slightly to the right, allowing his fist to come dangerously close to my face.

When he started retracting his fist I used my left hand to grab his wrist, and my right hand came up to his shoulder. Pushing up with my left hand and pushing down with my right, I moved his arm upright. Pavel followed the movement, effectively keeping his shoulder in its socket. I brought my knee up to his solar plexus causing him to groan out in pain.

With my left foot firmly planted, I hooked my right foot behind his left knee, bringing it forward forcing him down on one knee. Pinning the arm I still had a grip on between my left arm and my torso, I simulated another stake thrust from behind before releasing him.

"Come on, Pavel. Are you even trying?" I asked as I stepped back from where he was still down on one knee, looking up at me perplexed.

"Absolutely, but you move so quickly, I barely see you coming before you're already on me." He said standing, brushing the imaginary dust off his body. "I don't think I'm going to be much of a challenge for you, or any other Guardian for that matter. If I'm going to be completely honest, I doubt any Strigoi has a chance at besting you."

"If I can't fight you or other Guardians, how am I supposed to get practice fighting another moving being?" I asked a little crestfallen.

"We could always attack in teams, that should definitely provide more of a challenge, though I'm not entirely sure if it'll be enough, but we can try." I nodded.

"Yeah, let's do that."

"The other Guardians should be arriving any minute now." Pavel said looking over at the clock on the wall. "How 'bout we take a break, eat breakfast, and start back at it once they've had a minute or two to settle in."

"Sounds good to me." He moved back to his water bottle, draining the rest of the contents before moving to the door motioning for me to follow. I scooped up my own water bottle, taking a quick drink before following him upstairs and into the kitchen.

I grabbed an apple from the bowl in the middle of the island and took a large bite. The sweet taste that I was expecting wasn't as bright as it once had been. I guess the Darkness dulled all of my feelings, including taste. I shrugged and continued eating. I knew I needed to eat to keep my body going, even if I didn't derive pleasure from it anymore.

Pavel was busying himself with a few frying pans: one with bacon, one with eggs, and one was greased, ready for the pancake batter he was currently mixing. I turned my head at a slight noise from the front of the house. Soon chatter filtered in through the glass.

"I think the Guardians are here." I said not moving from my spot on a bar stool by the island. Pavel's eyes cautiously glanced to the front door, waiting for it to open.

When it did, a dozen Guardians filed through into the kitchen, noses in the air like bloodhounds on a hunt, not noticing me.

"Hey, Pavel! Whatcha cookin'?" One Guardian asked.

"Good morning, Guardian Fleming. I'm making breakfast for myself and Guardian Hathaway." Pavel responded, inclining his head toward me. The Guardians finally noticed me where I sat, legs crossed, leaning on one elbow against the countertop. I gave them a sharp two-fingered salute.

"Howdy, fellas." They kind of looked a little taken aback by my presence, or maybe it was the fact the Pavel was cooking for me. The same Guardian that had spoken to Pavel stepped forward, hand extended.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Guardian Hathaway. I'm Guardian Fleming, but you can call me Christopher." As I shook Christopher's hand, I studied him. He was kind of attractive. Dirty blond hair, cut short, but styled messily. He had stubble across his jaw, but it didn't make him seem unkempt.

"The pleasure is mine, Christopher. Call me Rose." His eyes flashed in shock as he put two and two together.

"You're Rose Hathaway?" I only nodded as a response. His eyes roamed my body again, but this time as more of an assessment. "You're different than I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?"

"I'm not really sure, but not you." I cocked my head to one side thoughtfully.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." The remaining eleven Guardians came forward to introduce themselves. In order of introduction: Christopher Fleming, Tyler Nelson, Jack Sanders, Jasper Carr, Ben Eddings, Luca Koch, Aidan Fisher, Clayton Shaw, Trey Foster, John Goad, Peter Thomas, and Kyle Howard. From the way a few of them shamelessly flirted with me, I drew the conclusion that they did not know I was Abe's daughter.

By the time all the introductions were made, Pavel had finished cooking and had graciously prepared my plate and set it in front of me. I ate the food quickly, thanking Pavel in between a few bites.

"Alright, boys. Your room assignments are over on the dining table, go put your stuff in your rooms, change, and meet us downstairs. You're going to help Guardian Hathaway train today."

"What if we hurt her?" Guardian Nelson asked with a smirk on his face. He'd been one of the few that flirted me and everything about him set me on edge. His hair was oily and smile unsettling. He was tall and lanky, and overall gave off a creepy vibe.

"Trust me, you won't hurt her." Pavel scoffed. I gave him a knowing smirk as I finished my food and washed it all down with a glass of apple juice. "You've ten minutes."

The Guardians dispersed quickly and moved off to their appointed rooms.

"Please tell me that Guardian Nelson will not be staying anywhere near my room." I said causing Pavel to chuckle.

"He's assigned one of the rooms in the basement. You shouldn't have to worry about him, not that you'll have a problem setting him straight." I nodded as I jumped off my stool and placed my dirty dishes in the dishwasher beside the sink. I washed my hands, dried them off, and moved back downstairs, Pavel following close behind.

"So, how is this going to work?" I asked when I reached the middle of the gym and turned around to face him.

"I kind of just expected to tell them to attack you and then go from there."

"Alright. I can work with that." I started stretching. "Are you going to fight, too, or are you going to observe?"

"I think it best if I observe you and give advice where I can." I smirked.

"Sure. I think you just don't want to get beat a third time." I chuckled quietly as he rolled his eyes. A few minutes later Guardians started filtering into the gym, stretching silently, waiting for orders from Pavel. I sat down in my position in the middle of the sparring mats.

Once everyone was in here, Pavel clapped his hands, and we all turned to him expectantly.

"Alright. The twelve of you are going to attack as a group. I don't care if you attack as a group of twelve, a group of six, or a group of four, as long as you attack in a group of more than three."

"Who are we attacking?" Jack asked.

"Rose." Pavel answered. The expressions on the Guardians' faces ranged from eager to scandalized.

"You want all of us to attack Rose at once?" Jack asked, clearly needing more specific instructions. Pavel nodded and turned to me.

"Are you ready, Rose?" I stood up from where I was seated and nodded my head. "Good. You twelve, circle around her and prepare to spar."

The Guardians moved into place, some more hesitantly than others. I lowered myself into my fighting stance, cognizant of the Guardians behind me, but also fully focused on those in front of me.

"Begin." Pavel said, but no one made a move toward me. I rolled my eyes and decided to make the first move.

I leapt to my left, spinning with my right leg extended, nailing the poor Guardian in the upper thigh. Jasper. The move sent him tumbling backwards, clutching his leg. I bent down and simulated a stake thrust before moving on to the next. Beside him, to his right, was Ben then Christopher.

Taking out Jasper seemed to bring the Guardians out of their momentary hesitation, and they began to move. The Guardian behind me, John, shifted his weight to his left foot, before starting to move his right leg up toward my shoulder. Instead of ducking, I turned to my right and grabbed hold of his leg mid-swing, using its momentum to propel me around the front of him. With my grip on his leg, I swung him into Tyler and Trey. All three fell with a thud.

Before I could move toward them to finish them off, Aidan was lunging toward me from my left, Christopher from my right, and Peter in front of me. I stopped to quickly assess my predicament, Aidan was the more immediate threat, so I braced myself for his attack. His arms were outstretched, aiming to grab hold of my waist. I quickly took a step back causing him to almost pass me, but I latched on to his wrists, pulling toward me. I stuck my foot out, sweeping him off his feet and making his torso turn toward me, giving me an opening in his chest. I took the opportunity to stake him.

Still bent over from staking Aidan, I rolled toward Christopher. He chose to jump over me, or try. As he was directly over me, I shot my hand out and grabbed his ankle. He started falling, his path would have caused him to land right on top of Aidan had he not rolled out of the way at the last second. I rolled to my feet as Christopher was trying to get the breath back into his lungs. I staked him while he was winded and saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye.

Peter was swinging his foot out at my face. I flung myself onto my back and I felt the rush of air pass over my body. He was moving into the follow-through of his kick when I quickly arose from my position. Two Guardians quickly grabbed hold of each of my arms. Kyle at my left and Jack at my right. I reared my head back and headbutted Jack, pulling my arm free and using it to punch Kyle in the jaw. Both stumbled back a few steps, giving me a chance to stake them both.

Peter was facing me again and John, Tyler, and Trey were directly behind him. Clayton and Luca were a few paces behind the four of them, flanking their sides.

Without warning I leapt into the air, sending a flying kick to Peter's sternum and followed it with a combo kick toward Trey. Peter stumbled back into Tyler allowing me the chance to stake him. Trey and Luca came at me from the left but I dodged their advances and staked them both before they could move out of my reach. Tyler was still trying to get Peter off of him, but Clayton and John had teamed up.

John aimed high while Clayton aimed low. It was a good technique and probably would have worked had they started their moves at the same time, but John started a second before Clayton, giving me time to stop John's fist before it connected with my shoulder and still have enough chance to jump over Clayton's sweeping leg. Ducking under the arm I caught, I twisted John's arm behind his back for staking him from the bottom of his ribcage and pushing him into Clayton.

Clayton went sprawling to the mats where he stayed after I staked him, too.

That just left Tyler. I smirked as he finally pushed Peter off of him and faced me. With a speed I didn't know I possessed, I flew at him, punching him in the gut and kneeing his chin as he doubled over. Once he was on his back on the mat, I pressed my knee into his gut, right where I'd just punched, and slammed my fist over his heart.

"Still think you're going to hurt me?" I asked smugly, my voice even. I wasn't gasping for air like the other Guardians. I don't know how long the encounter with the twelve of them lasted, but it wasn't longer than ten minutes. I stood up and looked over at Pavel. "Any suggestions?"

"Nope. I think you're good." A large smile spread across his face as he took in the state of the twelve Guardians around me. They were all groaning in pain, but the ones that I'd taken out first looked up at me in awe.

"Now that's what a man likes to see." Abe's voice rang through the gym. I turned to see a humorous smirk on his face. "His daughter surrounded by men in pain."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, Old Man," I said with a smirk. I looked around at the shocked faces of the Guardians I'd just flattened. Pavel was standing off to the side, trying to hold back his laughter, but he wasn't doing a very good job. "Did you need something?"

"Yes. I was hoping to have a conversation with you to work out the particulars of your little endeavor. I hope you understand that I'll need a little more information than training and hunting." I nodded and turned back to his men.

"Thanks for the fight guys. While I didn't find it too difficult, it was amusing and very instructive." I wiggled my fingers in Pavel's direction before motioning Abe toward the door. "Shall we?"

I was still in my workout clothes, but I hadn't been sweating or anything, so I didn't smell or feel gross. Abe led me to the third floor where he'd set up his office. He'd actually just converted one of the bedrooms, so it was a very large space to be considered an office. He'd split the space, creating a formal meeting area, with a regal desk and uncomfortable looking chairs, but on the other side of the room were plush couches that looked inviting centered around an electric fireplace.

"I love what you've done with the place," I said admiring his layout and décor. The whole space was warm earth tones, with the occasional red and gold thrown in. The walls were a warm cream, and all the furniture was a dark oak. While most of the bedrooms had carpeted floors, this one had hardwood that matched the furniture to perfection. To me, all of the space was cozy and inviting, but I would suspect that if someone met with Abe at his desk, forced to sit in the stiff wooden chair, it could be very intimidating.

He motioned me over to the couches, our meeting was going to be a comfortable one. When I seated myself facing the wall of windows, he sat adjacent to me. I could still look out the windows that overlooked the vast blue ocean, but I could easily turn my head to look at him and have a decent conversation. He looked relaxed, but he eyes showed a hint of concern.

"Alright. What have you planned and what still needs work?" He began, jumping straight into things.

"I haven't planned much, other than I need to train, both in hand-to-hand combat and in weapons."

"From what I saw downstairs, I don't think you need much training in hand-to-hand, though." He said smirking. "You said something about weapons. Which ones? Do you have something particular in mind?"

"I haven't really had a chance to do research to know which will be better. I want to use a sword. I understand that staking is effective, but if I become proficient with a sword, beheading would be a quicker death, probably easier, too, considering they won't be expecting me to use a sword." He nodded, looking thoughtful, but didn't comment, so I continued. "I'd also like a ranged weapon, maybe a gun or a knife. I don't know how I feel about guns, so preferably a knife. If the Strigoi are already attacking a victim and I can't reach them in the time it takes for them to sink their fangs in, I need something to slow them down and turn their attention to me."

"We might want to have a look at our weapons room here, just so you can get an idea."

"We have a weapons room here?" I asked slightly surprised, but I was learning quickly not to be surprised when it came to Abe's possessions. He chuckled and shook his head, rising from his couch gesturing for me to do the same.

"It's in the basement, the gym actually, but we don't inform anyone of it lest they get some bright idea." He said ominously. I wanted to ask, but I thought best not. It did make me feel a little bit better about our relationship that he trusted me to let me know he has a weapons room. "Let's go have a look, shall we?"

"Lead the way." I followed Abe back down to the gym where Pavel was giving the twelve Guardians a thorough dressing down. I kind of felt bad for them. It wasn't their fault that they couldn't beat me, but they could've been more coordinated with their attacks.

"Guardian Hathaway," Pavel called out to me kindly. "Would you care to critique the men's performance?"

"There isn't much I can say in regard to their fighting style considering I didn't get to see much of it, but it's just not enough to beat mine. You could use a lot of improvements when it comes to fighting as a group, though. While you attacked together, you didn't time your attacks well enough to do any real damage." I responded helpfully. "I suggest you spend some time learning how each other fight and become comfortable fighting together, as one, not as individuals."

"Thank you," Pavel said with a nod. I nodded back and turned to find an amused looking Abe. When I looked at him questioningly, he shook his head and moved toward the back corner of the gym.

He opened a panel on the wall and revealed a retina scanner. He bent down with his left eye and waited for the scan to complete. I saw a red light emit from the scanner, covering his whole eye. There was a light beep, and Abe straightened and turned to me with a grin.

"Don't worry, your retina has already been programmed. I didn't know which eye you'd want to use, so I went with your right one. The first time you use it, it will prompt for a DNA sample, just in case the house goes into lockdown. You'll just press your finger in this opening, it'll give you a quick prick, and you'll be good to go."

I don't know how he got a scan of my retina in order to enter it into any program, but it was too late to change it now, so I didn't ask. I simply nodded as he pushed open the door that had suddenly become visible in the wall. I looked over my shoulder where Pavel was still scolding the Guardians and giving them scheduled training times with various different people. I stepped into the room unseen and quickly shut the door behind me. The sight before me made me gasp.

Covering the walls were a vast selection of swords. I kind of expected there to be guns lining the walls and was slightly disappointed in the obvious lack of firearms until I saw three tables covered with both pistols and rifles along with grenade type weapons.

"We tend to keep swords here more often because guns don't really help in killing Strigoi," Abe informed me as I slowly inspected the various weapons. There were some that I recognized: the great sword, katana, claymore, rapier. But there were others that I didn't know the names of. Two swords drew my interest more than the others, and these two I didn't know the names of, but they spoke to me.

"What's this one called?" I asked as I removed the sword from the wall. It was a sickle of sorts, but longer, thicker, and sharper. The hilt fit perfectly into my small hand. The base of the sword was straight but quickly jutted out and began its curve, ending in an arrowhead-shaped tip. Both the inside and the outside edges were razor sharp and the hook that was created from the jut was like a knife had been attached.

"That's a Khopesh. The Egyptians evolved it from a battle ax. It's called a sickle sword, similar to a battle ax, but much lighter and easier to fight with." Abe said handing me its designated scabbard. I hooked the scabbard around my waist and sheathed the sword. "They don't usually have the entire length and both edges sharpened, but I found it more useful when fighting."

The weight of the sword as it hung against my left hip felt natural, like it was made to be there. The Khopesh wasn't a heavy sword, though I'm sure after swinging it around for a while, the ten pounds would probably feel like a ton. I unsheathed the sword slowly, feeling every catch as it made its way out of the scabbard.

"It's a self-sharpening scabbard, so you shouldn't have to worry too much about sharpening it often," Abe said, amused by my fascination, but I was too engrossed in the sword to really care. Studying the blade once more, I put it back in the scabbard. Taking the scabbard from around my waist, I place it on an empty table in the middle of the room. I decided I'll put the weapons I'd most-likely use on this table before making a final decision.

"What about this one?" I asked taking the second sword off the wall. This one was also curved, though the curve of this one was much more subtle than the Khopesh. Compared to the Khopesh, this sword weighed next to nothing, maybe three pounds at most. Though the blade was thin, it gave no indication that it was weak or malleable. Like the Khopesh, the blade was extremely sharp, ending in a very fine point.

"That's a Turkish Scimitar," Abe said proudly. "I'm actually surprised you picked it up. Most go for the katana when choosing a curved blade, but I supposed your Turkish blood knew this sword was the right choice. This one is traditionally worn with a hip scabbard, but I've found it more comfortable with a back scabbard."

With that, he pulled out a harness of sorts. It crossed at the back, attached was a curved scabbard. Placing the sword momentarily back on the wall, I pulled the harness on, strapping it at the front, right under my bust. I pulled the sword back down, carefully guiding it into place on my back. I would have to get used to the movement of sheathing and unsheathing both of the swords. If the harness wasn't fitted to me so well, I wouldn't have noticed that the sword was on my back. It was just that light.

"The scabbard has a catching mechanism, so if you're flipping during combat or hanging upside-down, it won't come out on its own. There's a small release on the top of the hilt, right where your hand would sit, that releases the sword from its constraint."

I nodded, wrapping my hand around the hilt as it rested near the base of my neck, finding the small button near my index finger. I pushed it and the sword slid out easily, with a light ring as the metal scraped past metal. I swung the sword through the air, listening as it moved the air as it passed. I started moving the sword faster, it's rough hilt fitting snugly into my palm. Abe stepped back a couple of steps to observe my positioning.

"You've almost got it down right away, but I'll have Pavel work with you on stance and hand placement so you won't have any problems. You're a natural." He said with a smile. I smiled back before focusing back on my blade. After a few more minutes of me just holding the blade and getting used to its weight, I place the sword in its scabbard on my back before detaching the harness and setting the whole ensemble on the table beside the Khopesh.

"I think two swords will be enough. I'll train with these for a few days and decide if they're the ones that I'm going to stick with, and if I don't like them, I'll find new ones." I told Abe, and he nodded silently. I turned around to face the wall of throwing weapons. There were the typical throwing stars and knives, but I didn't see myself using those.

Toward the left-hand side of the display panels sat a single column of throwing spikes. These looked like stakes, but they were shorter and sharpened at both ends. I quickly made my way over to them and pulled a few off the wall. Despite looking like stakes, these spikes were much lighter, making it easier to throw further distances.

"I thought you might enjoy those. Most Guardians prefer them to an actual stake, though, it is extremely difficult to pierce the heart of a Strigoi when using them, they do provide a good diversion." Abe explained. "When you do your clothes shopping with Sydney, make sure to get something that has pockets or at least a place to hide a few of those, that is, if you like them."

"I think I'm going to like them," I said with a smile. "When is Sydney getting here, anyway?"

"I called her first thing this morning, and she's getting on a plane later tonight. She'll be here bright and early in the morning. I figure I'd give her a day to settle into her new home and then the day after you'd both go into the city to do your shopping. Unless you'd rather shop online and have everything delivered here?"

"No. If we go into the city it would give me a chance to scout a few locations that I would most likely be visiting when I start hunting. It will be easier to scope the places out while there's daylight and fewer people." I told him, placing the spikes on the table with my swords. "Do you think that I should carry a stake?"

"That's up to you. I don't know what kind of situations you're going to get yourself into, but if you come across a Guardian that isn't armed, don't you think you should carry a stake for them, just in case?"

"Yeah, though I don't know what kind of Guardian would walk around New York City without a stake on them." I chuckled. "So, did you give Sydney an option to help me, or did you call in a favor?"

"I asked if she'd be willing to be your personal Alchemist," Abe said. "I didn't have to threaten her or anything, if that's what you're asking. I'd gotten her back in the States and technically she does still owe me, but I gave her an option on this one. If she decided not to, I would have contacted the Alchemists personally and requested a personal Alchemist for you to call when you started hunting."

"Wait, so, she wanted to do this?" I asked dumbfounded. Sydney actually wanted to help an evil creature of the night? Without coercion? What was this world coming to?

"It appears to be that way. I've allocated her the room across the hall from yours. I've credit cards for you both, so you can do whatever shopping needs to get done. You've access to all my resources, including cars and drivers."

"Will I be able to receive Molnija marks for the kills I make?" I asked a little hesitantly. I knew it wasn't all about the mark, but that didn't mean that I didn't want my kills to go unrecorded; however, this time the marks weren't to show myself or other Guardians what I've done, but to show the Strigoi they have something to fear.

"I do believe that Sydney is trained with a tattoo gun and I can call in a few favors at Court to make sure that they get recorded, but only Guardian Croft will have access to the records," Abe said reassuringly.

"Thank you, Dad. This really means a lot to me." I said walking over to give him a hug. I'm not really a hugger, and Abe isn't really a hugger, but somehow, this hug wasn't awkward at all. I felt comforted by my father's arms.

"You're welcome, little girl." He said with a warm smile. "How 'bout you shower and meet me in the kitchen for lunch and then we'll start working on a training schedule. I don't want you going full throttle just yet. I know you're probably ready and everything, but I want you to relax just as much as you train."

"Alright," I said, while it did bother me a little that I couldn't just train all day, every day, it made sense that I would need to know how to relax also. "I'll see you in a bit."

We both left the weapons room. The gym was still occupied by the Guardians, but they were busy sparring and conditioning to notice that we'd reemerged from a hole in the wall. I gave Abe a quick kiss on the cheek and bounded up the stairs to the first floor. The sun was shining heavily through the windows, filling the space with the warmth of the sun. The first floor was mostly whites and creams, with powder-blue walls. The entirety of it reminded me of the beach, which considering the beach was just outside the door, it was fitting.

I walked slowly up the stairs to the second floor. The second floor was different than the first mainly because instead of open space, it was a long hallway that stretched from either side of the stairs. There were doors periodically placed on either side of the hallway leading to a bedroom each. Reaching the third floor was much of the same.

Taking a slight right at the top of the stairs, I stepped across the walkway to the door of my room. Opening the door to my room, I was again met with the brilliant light and the stunning sight of small sailboats floating out on the ocean. While pure happiness was not an emotion that I could feel now, I felt at peace with my beautiful surroundings.

I set to work unpacking all of my belongings that I had brought with me, which didn't amount to a lot. I placed my jeans in the bottom left drawer of my dresser and my t-shirts in the drawer above that. In the top left drawer, I placed all of my socks and underwear. I placed my collection of bras in the top right drawer along with my two swimsuits, sleep shirts and tank tops in the drawer below that, and pajama pants and shorts in the bottom right drawer.

I hung up all five of my dresses in the closet to the right of the dresser, along with my dress slacks. The few pairs of shoes I owned were lined along the bottom left side of my closet. I didn't have much in terms of jewelry, but I placed the few things I did have in a box on the counter in the bathroom. When my boxes arrived from Turkey, I'd unpack and organize my knickknacks and decorative items that would give my space more personality.

I grabbed some clothes to change into and headed to the bathroom. I'd decided to take a bath. There was also a wall of windows in the bathroom, but I could block the view of the shower or the bathtub with a screen, but I decided I wanted to be able to look out across the ocean. I turned on the taps, checking the water was warm before plugging the drain. I added a few drops of plumeria oil, giving the water a pleasant floral scent. While the water was rising, I stripped my gym clothes from my body and threw them in a hamper by the door.

The tile was cool against my bare feet but was a refreshing contrast from the warm sunlight that entered the window. I lowered myself into the tub and waited for the water to reach just below my shoulders before turning it off. I settled back into the deep tub, allowing the water to warm my bones. It wasn't like I felt the cold, but the heat felt nice. My muscles weren't sore, so I didn't need the heat to sooth them, but I felt soothed regardless of any bodily ache.

I let out a sigh of contentment as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the silence that surrounded me. The air inside was still and steamy, and I could hear a gentle breeze moving the waves and grass outside. I suspected that Abe wasn't going to be eating lunch at eleven, so I guessed that I had at least an hour to just relax.

With my eyes still closed, I decided to do a bodily check. I knew I was feeling better than I had in years, but I wasn't sure what else had changed with the acceptance of the Darkness. I kind of wouldn't mind if it gave me some sort of superpower, but I doubt that. However, I did try a few things just to see if anything worked.

I held my hand above the water, focusing energy into my palm, hoping for something to happen. I was hoping for the water to move or heat up, the ground to quake or the air to swirl around me, but nothing happened. So, no, I can't control an element.

I sighed and decided to take a moment to check in on Lissa. Even though I'd left her, I still felt a need to protect her, even if I couldn't do anything from where I am. I slipped into her head not knowing what to expect. She was currently at a bar with Adrian, drinking. I didn't detect a trace of Darkness in her entire being.

I don't know if it was Lissa's doing or my own, but I could see Adrian's aura, and it was clouded in Darkness. Seeing that much Darkness caused an urge inside of me to surface. I didn't know how to quench it, but my body did. I felt my lungs expand and my mind focused on the Darkness surrounding him. As I breathed in, the Darkness around him dissipate, and I felt myself becoming more alert and focused.

Adrian's hand froze halfway to his face, drink in hand, his eyes widening as he turned to study Lissa beside him.

"Rose? What have you done?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Rose?" Lissa asked confused, eyeing Adrian oddly.

"Rose is watching, Liss." Adrian said, never taking his eyes off the aura surrounding her. Even in a different state, the intensity that Adrian was using to study me being inside Lissa's head was unsettling. "And you won't believe what she just did."

"What did she do?" Lissa asked concerned.

"She took my Darkness."

"She can do that!?" Lissa shot up from her seat, rushing at Adrian, trying to study his aura, but she was still learning so she wasn't very good at it.

"Apparently."

"How do you know she's watching? Do you feel any different? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, better than I have been in about a decade, really. Your aura has a ring of Darkness around it, almost a solid black, but it isn't connected to your aura, it's separate. It's definitely Rose." I started shifting uncomfortablely in the tub. Adrian's gaze, though looking at Lissa, was piercing my soul.

"Rose? Rose, if you can hear me, could you just call me? Let me know that you're alright? You've made everyone here sick with worry. Dimitri's gone off his rocker looking for you. He went to Guardian Croft, but he said that you had taken a leave of absence and said you didn't know when you'd come back." Lissa said soothingly. I found myself wanting to contact her, just to ease her worry. I didn't want her to worry, I just couldn't be at Court anymore.

Both Adrian and Lissa sat quietly, as if I could answer them through the bond. Wait. I haven't tried in a while, might as well now.

 _"I can't come back, Liss."_ I pushed through. I was actually surprised when she answered me.

 _"Why not?"_ Lissa's voice echoed in my head _"What happened? Why'd you leave?"_

 _"I just couldn't be there anymore, Liss. I don't expect you to understand, but I didn't belong there, and I didn't have a reason to stay any longer."_

 _"Is this because of Dimitri?"_ Lissa asked timidly. I stayed silent for a few moments, trying to piece together an answer that she'd accept.

 _"Yes and no. Dimitri was the last thing holding me there, but I left for myself. I need to do something for me."_

 _"What happened between you two?"_

 _"That's between the two of us."_ I said sharply. I thought that the Darkness would continue to fight off the heartbreaking numbness I felt whenever I talked about Dimitri, but it was still there. I was shocked to find that I was still capable to such an emotion, I hadn't felt this sort of pain since leaving the church. _"I'll be checking in from time to time, Liss. If Adrian is around when I do, I'll continue to take his Darkness, and yours."_

 _"No, Rose! You can't do that!"_ Lissa shouted, causing my head to throb.

 _"I don't get hurt by the Darkness anymore. It doesn't control me, I control it. I'm fine. I can handle it, and you can't stop me, anyway."_ I said, and before she had a chance to respond, I left her mind, closing of my end of the bond so she couldn't contact me.

I leaned back in the cooling water, trying to piece together all the information that Lissa had shared in our short conversation. Croft is keeping my secret, but I really shouldn't be surprised by that. I'd always been a thorn in his side, but he's never given me any reason not to have my trust. It wasn't like I told him where I was going or why I was going. I'm sure that Dimitri seeking him out gave him a pretty good idea as to why I left.

Dimitri. Just thinking about him made my heart stir, but I pushed the feeling aside. That was a feeling that could get me killed. I should have listened to him at the academy, then we wouldn't be in this situation. I would still be guarding Lissa, and he would be my partner. Nothing more. I had no one to blame but myself, but I wasn't going to make that same mistake twice.

He'd made it clear that his love had faded, and, now, so had mine. There was something in the back of my mind that was nagging me, though. I tried not to investigate it, but the more I ignored it, the louder the nagging got.

 _Dimitri's gone off his rocker…_

That's what Lissa had said, right? What could have caused Dimitri, master of control, to go off his rocker? It couldn't be me, could it? No. I've already established that he didn't love me, most-likely didn't care for me. There's a lot going on right now in Dimitri's life, any number of them could have cause a mental break.

I do hope that he pulls himself together, though. He's really the only guardian that I trust with Lissa. However, she wasn't my responsibility anymore. I'd left a recommendation with Hans, but if Dimitri wasn't fit to be a Guardian, I trusted Hans' judgment to find a couple of Guardians that could do a decent job.

I pulled my relaxed body out of the cold water, pulling the plug and watched as the water swirled down the drain. I could smell food cooking downstairs, and knowing that lunch was soon, I hurried to put some clothes on. I stepped into a pair of jeans, and yanked a t-shirt over my head after donning a bra. I parted my hair down the middle, braiding each side, and draping them over my shoulders.

I pocketed my phone and headed downstairs toward the kitchen. I found Abe attending the stove, two pans in front of him. One was busy cooking some batter, from the smell I would guess crepes, and the other was heating a fruit compote.

"Hey, Kiz!" Abe called out in greeting as I approached him.

"Hey, Dad. Can I help with anything?" I asked, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, watching his progress as he flipped a crepe.

"Yeah, the cream cheese is already softened, but now you just need to add powdered sugar to it. Make it as sweet as you want." He said pointing to the cream cheese on the island behind him, sitting next to the powdered sugar. I pulled down a bowl from the upper cabinet, depositing the block of cream cheese in first before adding the sugar. I grabbed a spoon and began mixing.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to you calling me 'Dad.'" Abe chuckled after a minute.

"Would you rather me call you something else?" I asked a little amused. I know the work my father did wasn't all legal, and I never really saw him as the parenting type, but he was fiercely protective of me, and I didn't feel comfortable calling him 'Abe.'

"You could always try for the Turkish word for father, 'Baba.'" He said after thoughtfully flipping another crepe. "But you call me whatever you feel more comfortable calling me. 'Abe,' 'Zmey,' 'Dad,' 'Old Man,' it doesn't matter to me. Just let me know so I can start answering to it." I laughed as I smoothed out my sweet mixture.

"I think I like Baba." I said with a decisive head nod. "It sounds better than 'Dad.' No offense, but you don't seem the 'Dad' type, but I can get behind 'Baba.'" It was Abe's turn to laugh.

"Why, thank you, Kiz. That means a lot to me." _Baba_ chuckled after his laughter had died down.

"What's so funny?" Christopher asked as he entered the kitchen, sweaty, followed by ten other Guardians. I quickly worked out who was missing.

"Where's Guardian Nelson?" I asked with a smirk, which earned me Christopher's laughter.

"He's receiving a little chat with Pavel, apparently his performance this morning and just now wasn't up to par. He's most-likely going to be replace with a new Guardian tomorrow. Pavel's already put out a notice for a Guardian wanting to get away from Court and move out here indefinitely."

"Pavel does the job posting? Not Baba?" I asked slightly confused.

"Yeah, most people won't even apply to the job if they knew they were going to be working for Abe Mazur, no offense Boss."

"None taken." Baba said with a wave of a spatula, not taking his watchful eye off the last of the crepes.

"Anyway, when they come out for the interview, get the detail of the job, pay, housing, stuff like that, then Pavel reveals that they'll be working for Abe Mazur. They're given the choice to accept, but after hearing the benefits of the job, most stay." Christopher explained, taking the spot beside me at the breakfast bar.

"I like to think that they stay because of me." Baba said, setting down a large platter of unfilled crepes. "How many do you want, Kiz?"

"Let's start with five and go from there." I said, my stomach growling in anticipation. I watched as he spooned the cream cheese mixture onto one side of the crepe before folding it into fourths. He repeated this with four other crepes, piled those on a plate and smothered all of it in the berry compote. "Thanks, Baba." I said with a smile as he set the plate in front of me.

"No problem, Kiz." He returned with a smile before gesturing to the other Guardians to help themselves. I guess I was the only one that Baba made crepes for.

"It's still odd to see you interacting with your child. I've never seen you like this, Abe." Kyle said, taking the spot on the other side of me, his plate also having five crepes.

"I'd usually say 'don't get used to it,' but seeing as she'll be here indefinitely, you probably will have to get used to it." Abe said less kindly to Kyle then he would have to me. I saw Kyle ease back in his chair from the corner of my eye, and I turned to him with an angelic smile on my face.

"I don't see how I didn't peg you as his daughter the moment I first saw you. You're a younger, female version of your father."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." I said before digging into my sweet, fruity crepes. I couldn't help the moan that escaped my mouth. Several heads turned toward me, most contained a lustful look, but Baba's held amusement. "This is so good."

"Thank you." Baba responded with a flourished bow.

It seems that now my body has adjusted to the Darkness, I was able to feel and enjoy just like I had before. Sure, there were some feelings that were dulled, like love and lust, but I almost felt like myself again. I felt happy for the first time in a long time. I smiled up at Baba, and he returned my smile. The worry that had lived in his eyes since I'd first gotten onto the plane yesterday had disappeared.

My mood had increased dramatically from the melancholy, cold feeling I had yesterday, and I felt like my life was on the mend.

"When you're done, Kiz. Meet Pavel and me upstairs in my office and we'll talk about a training schedule." Baba said, coming around the island to give me a quick kiss on the head before he and Pavel left the kitchen.

"What training are you going to be doing, Rose?" Jasper asked. His sandy blond hair hung loose and sweaty around his face, making him look more like a surfer than a Guardian. Christopher, Kyle and Jasper were probably my favorite of the eleven Guardians in the room, my least favorite being the one that still hadn't joined us. He was probably packing, though.

"I'm going to start training with a sword. In Spokane, I actually found it more beneficial than a stake would have been. It's easier to keep Strigoi at a distance, but still get the job done. This time I want to know how to use the sword, though. Hacking a head off wasn't the easiest thing I've ever had to do." I said laughing. At the time, the events that occurred had been traumatizing, but now I'd been through worse and none of it bothered me anymore.

"So, you're hoping to go back to guarding, then?" Kyle asked, hope shining in his eyes. "I'd hate for the world to lose someone as talented as you."

"I'm not going to be guarding anymore." Sadness filled his eyes. "I'm going hunting."

"You're what!?" Christopher exclaimed from the other side of me.

"I'm going hunting. I know there are plenty of Strigoi in the city, I want to make the streets a safer place, not just for Moroi, but for humans. We've been worried about saving one race, but we completely neglected another. I understand that humans are much more populous than Moroi, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't protect them, too."

"So, you're just going to go around prowling for Strigoi?"

"No. I'm going to visit nightclubs that are usually visited by Strigoi. I'm going to have a personal Alchemist with me, and I'm going to lower the population of Strigoi in New York City." I said, raising my eyebrows, daring them to challenge me. The three of them hadn't known me long, but they'd automatically taken over the roles of older brothers, which was sweet, but I didn't need them breathing down my neck about how dangerous this was.

"Is it just going to be you hunting, or are you going to have backup, like us?" Jasper asked after taking a moment to process the information.

"I'd planned on going by myself, but Baba might have a problem with that, so it's possible I'll be taking a couple of you guys with me." Jasper nodded in acceptance, Christopher perked up at the idea, and Kyle looked a bit apprehensive. "But I'm about to go talk about my training right now, so I'll let you guys know in a bit."

I left them all with a smile, and ascended the stairs, going back to Baba's office. I heard voices coming from inside, but that was to be expected since Pavel had come up with Baba. I knocked, announcing my presence, and the conversation stopped abruptly.

"I still don't think it's a good idea." I heard Pavel say. The door opened a moment later, revealing Pavel. He gestured for me to enter. Baba was sitting in the same spot he had occupied earlier, so, naturally, I claimed mine. In the course of a couple hours, the sky over the ocean had become overcast and gloomy.

"What's not a good idea?" I asked, looking between the two men. Abe shook his head at Pavel.

"Nothing you need to worry about right now." He told me, after breaking their staring contest.

"Okay…" I said slowly, eyeing them both wearily. "So, training."

"Yes. I heard that you wanted to learn swordsmanship?" Pavel asked sitting beside Baba, directly in my line of sight.

"I would like to, yes."

"Have you picked the swords you'd like to learn to use?" I nodded. "Then we can start as soon as you want."

"Not so fast, friend." Baba interrupted my giddiness. "I want Rose to be relaxing just as much as she is training. We're going to make a schedule that will allocate time for her to be relaxing and time for her to be training."

I huffed, crossing my arms across my chest, turning to glare at Baba, he just glared back.

"Fine." I threw my hands in the air. I really didn't mind relaxing, but I really wanted to start training. "I'd like to run and lift in the mornings, and we can train with sword in the afternoon. I'll relax from breakfast until after lunch and then from dinner on. Does that sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Baba said with a pleased smile, Pavel shook his head in amusement.

"We'll start tomorrow, though. You've put me through enough today." Pavel said, rubbing his shoulder.

"Sydney will be here tomorrow, so probably no swords tomorrow. The day after we're going shopping and the day after that I'd like to check out the clubbing scene, so it will be Sunday before we can start with swords, hopefully that will give you time to recover." I told him with a smirk. I kind of felt back that I might have hurt him, but I know it couldn't have been that bad, besides I'd done worse to the Guardians downstairs.

"Well, why you girls are out shopping, I'm going to be conducting a few interviews with perspective Guardians to replace Guardian Nelson. I'll have to tell them that my daughter is here, but unless I offer them the job, I won't tell them who you are." Baba said.

"That's fine." I said, happy that the creepy Guardian would soon be out of the house.

"Of course, since this will be your house, you'll have final say on whether you approve of the Guardian we hire." Pavel stepped in quickly, adding information that Baba left out. There was a tense look that passed between them, but I didn't think much of it.

"I'm sure whoever you choose will be just fine. You don't need my approval, Baba." I said, turning my attention back to the beach below us. I really was feeling a swim, and I was supposed to be relaxing. "Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

"I don't think so, but I know you won't be far if I think of something that's pressing." Baba said chuckling at the last part.

"I'm probably going to go for a swim, so if you do need me, I'll be in the ocean." I told them, giving a Baba a kiss on the cheek before leaving his office and going down the hall to my room.

Opening my top right drawer, I pulled out my light blue bikini and began to undress. The color really complimented my skin tone, and showed everything to perfection without being trashy or unseemly. Observing myself in the bathroom mirror, I decided I was set, but grabbed a thin white kimono as a swimsuit cover. I didn't bother slipping on flip flops and headed downstairs barefoot.

I heard a couple wolf whistles from the direction of the kitchen and turned to see a couple Guardians lounging, checking me out. I narrowed my eyes at them, and they quickly averted their gaze adopting a terrified look. I smirked in victory and continued outside and down the path to the beach.

The sand wormed its way in between my toes, and I sunk into the beach an inch. The sand was warm, but I knew the water would be cool. I left my cover near the start of the beach, under a rock so it wouldn't fly away in the breeze, and started down to the shoreline. The wet sand caused me to sink further down. I stood where the water met the land, letting each passing of the waves take me down.

After I got used to the cool water, I walked out to chest height. I sucked in a deep breath and plunged myself into the salty water. Resurfacing, I looked back to the house. The Guardians had finished their lunch, and apparently decided to go for a swim, also. I treaded water and watched the well-toned Guardians trickle out of the house with board shorts on, distinctly lacking shirts.

Most avoided me, probably worried that Baba would go ballistic if he thought they took too much of a liking to me, but Kyle, Christopher, and Jasper started making their way over to me. In the time that they had reached me, I was half a mile from the shoreline.

"How's it going, Ms. Hathaway?" Christopher asked when he was a few feet from me, Kyle and Jasper a few feet behind him.

"It goes, Mr. Fleming." I said, mimicking his tone. "Do you guys not have anything to do?"

"Pavel actually told us to come out and keep an eye on you. I think you're more than capable of taking care of yourself, but he insisted." Christopher said with a roll of his eyes. "However, I think he just wanted to make calls to Court without the worry of us overhearing who might be coming as the new Guardian."

"Do you have any idea of who it could be?" I asked, moving closer to Kyle, finding the repetitive motion of treading water tiring, so I used his shoulder to keep myself afloat.

"Not a clue, but I heard that Abe wasn't going to accept anyone but the best, so I guess whoever it is they're going to be the best." Jasper said with a shrug.

"I'd expect nothing less from Baba." I said with a chuckle.

"So…" Christopher said with a sly smile. "Before we came out here, Pavel told us that Abe was going to leave it up to you to decide who would escort you to clubs when you go hunting. Have you given it any thought?"

"A little. The three of you would be my pick, though if Abe is hiring the best, I supposed he, or she, would be my first choice." Christopher and Jasper both let out squeals that could only be described as girly. Kyle and I cracked up laughing at them, but Kyle didn't share their excitement.

"Would you mind if I could be the designated driver?" Kyle said after our laughter had died down.

"That would be awesome." I said with a wide smile. "You guys do know that means you have to start training with me, right?"

All three let out loud groans, which caused me to laugh.

"Don't worry, we'll start Sunday, so enjoy it while you can."

"As you wish." Christopher said with a sigh, but I could see his excitement. I could imagine that the mischievous glint in his eyes was mirrored in mine.

"This is going to be fun."


	5. Chapter 5

By the time we got out of the ocean, we were all pruney, and the sun was starting to touch the horizon. I'd filled the guys in on the particulars of training and what I hoped to achieve. They'd informed me of major clubbing hot spots where I'd find Strigoi and what to be looking for when we went shopping tomorrow.

They weren't all too thrilled about training with swords; they preferred their stakes, however, I convinced them that swords would be easier. If they didn't like the sword after a week of practice, they can go back to using their measly stakes.

As we were walking up the beach, up the path, and back toward the house, I smelt pizza and moaned as my stomach grumbled.

"Alright, Rose." Christopher chuckled but was somewhat serious. "You're going to have to not make those noises. I don't think you know what you do to the male population. I don't know about the rest of the Guardians, but I don't always hold my tongue like I should. One of these days you're going to moan like that and someone is going to comment. You're going to get us in trouble with either Pavel or your father, and right now I'm not sure who I should be more scared of, but I'm thinking it's Pavel."

"How can you be scared of Pavel? I understand your fear of my father, but Pavel is one of the sweetest men I've ever met." I said holding my hand to my heart as I took personal offense.

"He's the sweetest man you've ever met because you're like his niece, and he's extremely protective of you. He's not ever going to be strict and stern with you. Even when he starts training you, he's going to treat you like his niece. The rest of us, we're just Guardians, and he's the boss, well, the boss's right hand, and he makes sure we know it." Jasper said. Kyle was nodding in agreeance, and Christopher just pointed at Jasper as if to say 'Yeah, what he said.'

"Well, I guess that just sucks for you guys. If it makes you feel any better, I'll probably be just as tough on you in training as Pavel will be." I said with a grin as we entered the house.

"I don't think that makes us feel any better," Christopher mumbled.

"In the kitchen, Rose." I heard Pavel call. I followed my nose and the sound of Pavel's voice into the kitchen, not bothering to change out of my bikini, but taking the time to pull on my coverup.

"It smells fantastic in here," I said before I spotted a mountain of pizza boxes. "Which is which?"

"That side is all meat," Pavel said pointing to my right before gesturing to my left. "This side has some sort of vegetable on it."

I ignored Pavel's laugh as I went directly for the all meat boxes and grabbed one for myself.

"Woah, Rose, do you think you can eat all of that?" One of the Guardians called from the dining room.

"I don't think I can eat all of this by myself. I _know_ I can eat all of this by myself, but if I can't, I'll let you know." I said with a smirk and moved into the living room area. The couches are much more comfortable, and I'm not surrounded by eight men, just three, and these three I actually liked.

"Do you want to see who can finish their box the fastest?" Jasper asked bouncing up and down in his spot on the couch opposite me.

"I'm going to pass, Jas," I said with a chuckle as Kyle backed out as well. "But you and Christopher are more than welcome to compete. I'll be here afterward to take care of you when you inevitably give yourselves massive stomach aches."

Jasper and Christopher dug into their pizzas, committing themselves to future stomach pain. Kyle and I sat back, leisurely eating our pizzas, watching in amusement. I was just starting on my third slice when Jasper began on his last, Christopher was half a slice behind him. I leaned forward anxious to see the winner. Jasper was inhaling his slice, a little too literally. He started coughing but pushed through to finish his slice, but not before Christopher.

Christopher raised both his arms in victory but groaned as his stomach stretched. Jasper recovered his breath, and both fell back into the couch holding their stomachs and groaning. The whole event took five minutes.

"How do you guys feel?" I asked with a smirk, finishing off my third slice.

"We should have listened to you." Jasper groaned, and I laughed.

"What's so funny, Kiz?" Baba asked when he entered with a couple slices of pizza on a plate.

"These two," I began gesturing to the pained Guardians, "decided it would be a wonderful idea to have a pizza eating contest, and while it was amusing to watch, it only succeeded in giving them a stomach ache."

"What gave you two the hint that it was a good idea to inhale greasy pizza so quickly?" Baba asked amused.

"It sounded like a good idea at the time." Christopher groaned. "I regret nothing."

"I regret something." Jasper groaned beside him.

"As long as you guys are prepared to go shopping tomorrow," I said with a smirk. "I plan to make it a full day affair." Kyle snickered beside me as he began his last slice of pizza. While he didn't take part in the speed-eating contest, he did devour his food rather quickly. I was only half done. "Did you conduct any phone interviews, Baba?"

"A couple. While you are out shopping tomorrow, I'm flying a few in to conduct in-person interviews, though I think I've found a perfect fit." He said with a smile.

"Does he know it will be you he'll be working for?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Yep, but I don't think he minds," Baba responded with a similar chuckle. Involuntarily, I let out a yawn. "You've had a busy day, Kiz. Sydney will be here early in the morning. Go get a good night's sleep so you have a fun-filled day of shopping."

I finished my pizza, kissed Baba goodnight, and dropped my empty pizza box in the middle of the dining table, stunning the Guardians, but ignored them as I climbed the stairs to my room. I took a quick shower to wash the salt water off my skin but was soon crawling into my comfy bed.

Out of pure, instinctual habit, I checked in on Lissa. I had expected her to be with Christian or Adrian, however, I wasn't all too surprised to see that she was with Dimitri. They were in her room talking. My heart lurched a little as I took in his face. He looked as if he hadn't slept in three days, which I supposed could be a very big possibility.

His eyes, which in the church held fire and anger, were now cold and lifeless. His hair hung limply around his face, and his skin was paler than usual.

"Dimitri, you need to eat." Lissa pleaded weakly, it sounded like it wasn't the first time.

"I'm not hungry, Princess. I'll eat later." Came the robotic response.

"I know you miss her," Lissa said softly but missed Dimitri's flinch. "I miss her, too."

"I'm sorry, Princess, but I can't say that I miss her," Dimitri said, his face contorting in pain as he said the words. Suddenly, I could see his aura, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't Lissa's doing.

The air around him was filled with a smoky black, swirling with a dark gray. There wasn't a splash of color anywhere. Against my better judgment, I breathed deep and willed his pain into myself. I felt my power increase and watched in amazement as his aura lightened and swirled with blues and greens.

His eyes widened.

"Princess, what did you do?" He asked breathlessly.

"Me? I didn't do anything." Lissa said shocked. "Why? What happened?"

"I feel different, better, happier," Dimitri said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Rose," Lissa whispered, almost quiet enough to where Dimitri didn't hear, but being the Guardian that he is, he heard.

"What about Rose?" He asked a little harshly, to which Lissa flinched.

"Adrian noticed it yesterday. I thought she could only do it with other Spirit users, but she can apparently do it to anyone who is feeling down." Lissa said, the wheels in her head still spinning.

"Do what?" Dimitri asked taking a step closer to Lissa.

"She can take the Darkness. Everyone's Darkness. Any negative emotion, any negative thought, she can take it. She said she can control it now." Lissa finished with a whisper.

"Are you sure? She's not hurt, is she? Can you talk to her? Is she okay?" Dimitri asked in a rush.

"I thought you didn't miss her," Lissa said crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes at Dimitri.

"I lied. Now, tell me, is she okay?" He asked taking a small step forward.

 _"Rose, are you okay?"_ Lissa's voice came through.

 _"I'm fine, Liss, but don't tell him that,"_ I responded with a sigh.

"She said no," Lissa told Dimitri. I watched his face fall, but instead of feeling peace knowing that he was in pain, I felt my chest tighten and tears spring in my eyes.

"Where is she?" He asked quietly, his voice breaking slightly.

 _"I'm not telling either of you where I am,"_ I told Lissa before she could ask me herself.

"She's not telling me. She doesn't want to be found. She doesn't want to see us. She definitely doesn't want to come back to Court." With each sentence, Dimitri flinched, his eyes turning glassy with tears that he tried to hold back.

"I understand." He said quietly, slowly backing away from Lissa. "However, if she's staying away from Court because of me, tell her that I'll be leaving soon."

 _"Leaving?"_ I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Where are you going?" Lissa asked, curious herself.

"I'm going to find myself. I'll visit home for a bit before finding a job anywhere but Court." He said. Only then did I notice a duffle placed near the door. He picked it up and slung it over his shoulder. "I'm due to leave in an hour."

"Will you be back?" Lissa asked a little hurt.

"Probably not. There are more than enough Guardians here to keep you safe, Princess." Dimitri responded, his normal Guardian mask in place, though I could see the pain in his eyes.

"I don't want other Guardians, Dimitri. Rose asked for you specifically to protect me, and since she's not here herself, you're the best thing I have."

"Add it to my long list of failures when it comes to doing what Rose wants of me," Dimitri muttered before heading out the door. I didn't stick around in Lissa's head after the door slammed shut.

My body had sunken into the mattress and was being cradled softly, relaxed. However, unlike my body, my mind was racing, working overtime to figure out why Dimitri would leave Court. It couldn't be because of me, I wasn't there anymore. He was starting to become accepted as a Guardian again, so it wasn't like he didn't have a job. He wasn't too keen on seeing his family after he was restored, but I don't know what could have changed his mind.

I pulled myself out of bed, my mind too frantic to even attempt sleeping, now. I pulled the curtains covering my windows back and looked out over the glass black water. I could faintly hear the waves crashing on the sand. The lights of the far harbor were reflected softly on the moving surface.

The outside world was calm, but inside me was a raging storm. The Darkness I'd taken from Dimitri was different from the Darkness I'd taken from Adrian and Lissa. There was something different about this Darkness. It was more powerful, almost all-consuming. I couldn't possibly fathom what it must have felt like to Dimitri.

I decided that I needed to rid myself of some of it in order to sleep, so I pulled on some shorts and a tank top and made my way down to the gym. As suspected, the gym was empty. It was nearly two in the morning, the middle of the day for Moroi, but the middle of the night for everyone else.

I went over to the panel Baba had shown me earlier and pushed on it. The wall drew back and revealed the scanner. I bent down slightly to bring my right eye in line with the laser and waited while the red light completed its scan. There was a soft beep followed by two harsher beeps. I looked down to see a hole glowing red, indicating that I needed to put my finger there.

I inserted my finger into the hole and jumped a little at the sudden prick. I knew it was coming, so I shouldn't have been all that surprised, but that didn't stop the gasp that escaped my mouth or the involuntary sudden withdrawal of my finger. I sucked off the bead of blood that had pooled on my fingertip as the secret door opened.

I walked to the table that held my weapons and picked up my Scimitar. I placed the harness around myself and placed the scabbard of the Khopesh on my waist. I moved back into the gym, making sure to close the door to the weapons room.

I didn't plan on using the swords, just getting used to how they sat on my back and side and how to move with them. I moved over to the punching bags and dropped myself into a fighting stance. I released the first punch and watched the bag swing violently. I hadn't realized that I could pack that much power into one punch.

I didn't want to have to be dealing with a swinging bag during my pummeling, so I moved over to a dummy. The dummies were meant to have similar characteristics as a Strigoi. They were hard and heavy, a skeletal system was built into them, giving you practice with avoiding bones or breaking them.

When my fist made contact with the hard rubber, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a pleasant pain that caused my entire body to relax. The subsequent hits felt just as good, and I started to get into a rhythm. I was so focused on beating the thing bloody, not that there was actual blood, that I didn't notice someone else had entered the room until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I pivoted to my left slightly, grabbing the hand that had attached itself to my shoulder. I reached back and grabbed the forearm of the person and bent forward, slinging their arm in front of me, causing the rest of the body to follow.

The body landed with a thump and a groan. I knelt down and leaned over the person, fist pulled back ready to strike when I finally saw who I'd thrown over my shoulder.

"Christopher? What are you doing down here?" I asked quickly. I sat back on my heels as Christopher pulled his body off the ground with a loud groan.

"I live down here." He replied. "After Guardian Nelson vacated the premises, I was moved down here. Jasper and Kyle were already down here, and Pavel thought it was a good idea to have us all together, easier to wake us for practice if need be."

"Are you three the only ones down here?" I asked him, switching my seating position to a half-lotus.

"Yep, but I don't see how those two slept through the sounds you were making." He said with a smirk.

"Sounds?" I asked trying my best to lift an eyebrow. I think I managed it slightly, if I didn't, Christopher didn't say anything about it.

"Yeah, you were almost screaming with fury as you were punching that dummy. I called out to you several times before resorting to contact. I knew if I touched you I'd be dealt a little pain." He said with a wink. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Sorry about that. I didn't realize I was making so much noise." I said looking down at my hands. They were bloody.

"Jesus, Rose!" Christopher cried when he looked down. "What did you do?"

"I was just punching the thing," I said calmly and watching in amazement as the wounds closed slowly. We both stayed silent, but when I looked up at Christopher, his eyes were wide and his jaw agape.

"How'd you do that?" He whispered, still staring at my hands.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Are you two okay in here?" Kyle asked hesitantly from the doorway. I turned to look over my shoulder and saw him and Jasper standing there, their stakes in hand though they hung by their sides.

Only then did I realize that all three of them were shirtless. I'd seen better. I mean, it's hard to beat a well-toned Russian, but they were still nice to look at.

"Yeah, we're good," I said.

"Speak for yourself. My shoulder is going to be sore for a few days." Christopher grumbled with a smile.

"Maybe you shouldn't sneak up on a girl who is going hard at a dummy," I said with a smirk.

"Speaking of which, why were you going so hard at said dummy?" Christopher asked cocking his head to the side.

"I had some emotions I needed to burn off," I answered.

"Pretty strong emotions if you ask me," Jasper said as he and Kyle moved over and sat on either side of me.

"What's his name?" Kyle asked after I'd only nodded in response. I looked up at him in surprise, but he only gave me a look that told me it'd just be easier if I told them.

"Dimitri," I said quietly looking down at my hands.

"Is he the reason you came here? The reason you left Court?" Jasper asked gently.

"Partially. He was the only thing keeping me there. My best friend had started to drift from me. She didn't enjoy that I wanted to spend more time with him than with her. Her relationship with her own boyfriend was on the rocks, her own doing, and she blamed it on me because I left to help Dimitri."

"Did you help him?" Jasper asked.

"I did," I responded.

"Then why aren't you with him?" Kyle asked confused.

"Because he didn't want me there anymore. He didn't want me. He made sure that I knew it, too." I said closing my eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay as my voice broke.

"What did he do?" Christopher asked, his hands curling into fists.

"He told me 'Love fades. Mine has.'" The tears I'd not been able to shed in that moment were coming forward now. "I'd done so much for him. I'd risked my life numerous times, broken the law at least once, and somehow accomplished the impossible. I did it all for him but all for nothing because he didn't want me."

They all stayed quiet as the tears rolled silently down my face. Kyle was the first to move, wrapping his arms around me as I started to sob. I felt someone, probably Jasper, ease my weapons off my body as the tears kept coming.

The pain that had been absent the past two days was now making itself known and with interest. One of Kyle's hands rubbed my shoulder gently while the other soothed my hair. I'd buried my face in his neck as my sobs continued. I felt two more hands rub my back gently.

My body felt drained and my mind tired. Slowly my eyes stopped producing tears and my chest released some pressure. I felt my body slump against Kyle as my mind filled with drowsiness. I couldn't open my eyes, and I barely recognized the feeling of being lifted as I fell into unconsciousness.

I thought sleep would be my solace, my safe haven, but I was wrong. I was so very wrong. My mind was tormented by dreams of Dimitri ripping my heart out of my chest. I'd had similar dreams in my time over in Russia, but those were always of a Dimitri with blood-red eyes. The Dimitri that was pale and cruel, heartless. This Dimitri lacked the feeling of death. His eyes were a chocolate brown, his skin was tan, but he was still delivering the final blow.

There were variations of what the Dream-Dimitri did to me, sometimes he'd cut my heart out with his stake, sometimes he'd rip it out with his bare hands. However, in all of the dreams, he'd tell me the same thing, only this thing wasn't imagined: _"Love fades. Mine has."_

The words played on repeat as the various death scenarios ran through my mind, whispers in the back of my head. I tried running from him. I tried hiding from him. I tried pleading with him, telling him that I love him, but nothing worked. On the seventh iteration of my death, I stood still and let it happen, hoping that my acceptance would make it stop. On the tenth iteration, I cut my own heart out and gave it to him, hoping he'd change his mind if I gave it to him willingly, but he dropped it on the ground and squashed it under his foot.

It didn't matter what I did, he never wanted my heart. No matter what I did, no matter what I told him, no matter how much I pleaded with him, he was still going to kill me; and I let him.


	6. Chapter 6

I felt the stake enter my chest yet again, but this time, I bolted straight up in bed, gasping for breath. I was covered in a thin layer of sweat, my heart beating frantically in my chest. The curtains in my room were pulled back enough to see out of but not enough to let in a lot of light. There was enough light from the emerging sun for me to notice three bodies scattered on the floor.

Kyle, Jasper, and Christopher had placed themselves on my floor and were sleeping peacefully, stakes in hand. I chuckled to myself and eased myself quietly out of bed, but it wasn't quiet enough as the floor creaked underneath me. Kyle jumped up quickly, almost tripping over Jasper in the process. Jasper also stood up quickly, but because of Kyle's close proximity, he ended up falling backward onto Christopher.

Christopher quickly pushed Jasper off of him and jumped to his feet, stake raised at the ready. His eyes quickly scanned the room, taking in a startled Kyle and myself as I tried to contain my laughter. Jasper picked himself up off the floor and dusted the imaginary dust from himself.

"Rose, are you okay?" Christopher asked quickly, his eyes quickly scanning the rest of the room, looking for any threat.

"I'm fine, Christopher," I said after quieting my laughter. "What are you guys doing in here?"

"I carried you up here last night after you passed out. We stayed to make sure that you were alright. You kept tossing in your sleep, restless." Kyle said rubbing the back of his neck probably trying to work out a kink.

"We tried to calm you, but you wouldn't settle, so we stayed in case you woke up." Jasper finished eyeing me with concern.

"You guys really didn't have to do that," I said slightly embarrassed.

"Rose, we only met you yesterday, but even if we weren't meant to protect you while you're here, we still would." Christopher started. "I know I don't speak for these two, but you're like the sister I never had." Both Jasper and Kyle nodded. "We're going to be here to protect you, both physically and, if we can, emotionally."

"We're here for you, Rosie," Jasper said with a smirk. I glared at him, but deep down I was truly touched by their protectiveness. I just hope that they won't have to protect me from my emotions like they did last night.

"As long as you three don't allow the other Guardians to call me that, I'll let it pass, but just for you three." I glared lightly at the three of them, and they all chuckled but nodded in agreeance. "Wonderful, are you guys ready for a run?"

"How far are we running?" Christopher asked hesitantly. I knew I told them I'd give them a few days to relax before we started training, but since they were all here, might as well start now.

"Yesterday I ran to the end of the island and back, but today I think I'll keep it to ten miles," I said making my way over to my closet and disappearing inside.

"I'll agree to the ten miles, but I will not be running to the end of the island and back," Jasper said firmly.

"Fair enough. Sydney should be here by the time we get back and after that, we're going shopping." I called out as I pulled on my clothes. "Do you guys need to get changed before we head out?"

All three of them shook their heads so we set out toward the beach. I set off at a fairly slow pace and judged my speed on the effort of the three Guardians behind me. I pushed them to run faster, it wouldn't be as fast as I could go, but that wasn't the point.

When we got back to the house, all three of them were huffing and puffing.

"Alright, Rosie, we aren't letting you set the pace next time." Christopher puffed as I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, guys. It wasn't that bad." I said fixing my windblown hair. There wasn't a drop of sweat of me.

"Easy for you to say. You're some freak of nature!" Jasper cried out. "I don't even know how you do it."

"I'm not really sure either, but you'll learn more today. I don't want to get into all of it all at once, and I have a feeling that Sydney can help figure somethings out. I'll reveal things as the day progresses." I said enigmatically.

"Cause that's not mysterious at all," Christopher said rolling his eyes.

"Rose?" I heard from behind me. We'd paused on the walkway at the back of the house as the three Guardians caught their breath. I turned around to see the small, blonde Alchemist. I ran forward and hugged her tightly.

"Hey, Sydney!" I said pulling back, kind of surprised that I had hugged her, but more surprised that she'd hugged me back. "How's Russia been?"

"I'm not stationed in Russia anymore. Shortly after you left to go back to St. Vladimir's, Abe got me out of Russia. I've been in New Orleans ever since, but just between the two of us, it's boring there. When Abe called and said that you needed a personal Alchemist, I jumped on the opportunity." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Admit it, Sage, you missed me," I said with a large grin. Sydney rolled her eyes but didn't negate my statement. I heard a not-so-subtle cough come from behind me.

"Hello," Sydney said shyly as she observed the three Guardians. I never noticed, but they were all around the same height and could probably pass as brothers.

"Howdy, ma'am," Jasper said, letting his southern drawl thicken. His sandy blond hair still damp with sweat but somehow still looked good. "I'm Jasper Carr."

"It's a pleasure, Jasper," Sydney replied, keeping her distance. While she'd been more than happy to greet me with a friendly hug, she was not prepared to get comfortable with any other supernatural creature.

"I'm Christopher Fleming, and this is Kyle Howard." Christopher introduced with a winsome smile. He stepped forward, hand extended which Sydney took hesitantly. Kyle rolled his eyes at Christopher and gave Sydney a small smile.

"This is Sydney Sage. She'll be my personal Alchemist." I said with a smile.

"I'm still not entirely sure what that job description entails," Sydney said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"I'll tell you as we shop. I'm going to show you up to your room, shower, and then we're heading out." I said, steering her back into the house. The guys headed down to the basement to shower and dress for the day.

Sydney and I climbed the two flights of stairs to our floor, and I led her to the door directly across from mine.

"My room is there," I said gesturing to the door behind us. "This room is yours, and Abe's room and office are at that end of the hall. I believe the only other person up here is Pavel, and he's down there." I said pointing to the appropriate doors.

"I think I met Pavel downstairs. He answered the door and told me where to find you, but he didn't offer his name."

"Yep. That would be him. He's not much of a talker until he gets used to you. He's Abe's personal Guardian." I said opening to door to her room.

This room was almost identical to mine, but the colors were different. Where my room was shades of black and white, this room was different shades of gray and purple.

"Did Abe always know I was going to be in this room?" Sydney asked with a smile on her face.

"I doubt he knew when he was actually designing the room, but I think he knew he was going to put you in here when you agreed to the job," I said leaning against the doorjamb as I watched her take in the room.

"This room will be more than sufficient." She said in her business voice. I chuckled and turned to head to my room.

"I'm going to take a shower, but if you need me, I'm right across the hall," I told her before disappearing into my room.

I quickly undressed and stepped under the cool stream of water. I washed the sand from the beach off my feet and legs and washed the salty sea spray from my face, trying to keep my hair from getting too wet.

I jumped out of the shower and quickly dried off. I'd succeeded in keeping my hair dry and ran my fingers through the locks. I wrapped a towel around my body to go out to my bedroom to find something to wear.

After sifting through my clothing options, I pulled some leggings and a large off the shoulder t-shirt. Thankfully, these leggings had pockets, so I wouldn't need to carry a purse.

For the first time since leaving Court, I turned on my phone. There were dozens of missed calls and unanswered texts from Lissa, Adrian, Eddie, and, surprisingly, Christian. They all wanted to know where I was and why I wasn't answering them. All of them expressed their concern.

Eddie eventually told me to stay in touch and to be safe. Lissa held on hope that I was still going to answer her and kept her concern in place. Christian had turned to pleading, telling me what Lissa was going through, but I could tell he was anguished also. Adrian's messages started off like Lissa's, but slowly they morphed into anger. He was angry at me for leaving him, for leaving Lissa, and then his messages stopped coming.

To keep my sanity, I blocked Lissa, Christian, and Adrian. I kept Eddie unblocked and hovered over the keyboard to type out a response to him.

 _I'm going to trust that you don't tell Lissa, Christian, or Adrian. I'm doing good. I'll keep in touch and answer any questions I can, but please don't tell the others. I don't want to be found, so don't look for me. If you ever get tired of Court, you will always have a place beside me. ~ Rose_

I sent the message and scrolled through the rest of the missed messages, ignoring the various voicemails I got from them.

I felt my heart constrict and my blood run cold as I saw one, just one, message from Dimitri.

 _Roza, I'm so sorry. ~ Your Comrade_

Four words, so vastly different from the last four words he told me. Only, he wasn't my Comrade anymore. He would never be my Comrade again. My finger hesitated over the block button, but in the end, I didn't press it.

 _It's too late for sorry. ~ Guardian Hathaway_

It was a harsh response, but I knew it was needed. I needed him to know that he hadn't broken me. I was still a Guardian, and nothing he said to me was going to change that. I'd left Court, I'd left my charge, I'd left everything I've ever known, but he had not broken me, and he will not break me.

I was leaving my room when I felt my phone vibrate. My heart rate increased, thinking it could be Dimitri, but when I looked it was Eddie's name that flashed across the screen.

 _It's good to hear from you, Rose. Don't worry, I'll keep your secret, just let me know you're alive every once in a while. ~ Eddie_

 _Will do. Thank you for everything. ~ Rose_

I once again pocketed my phone and exited my room. Sydney's door was wide open, but she wasn't in there. I made my way downstairs and hear sounds coming from the kitchen. The smell of food was also drifting from that direction, so I figured the best place to find Sydney would be the kitchen, not that she'd be eating.

"Hey, Rose!" Pavel called as he presided over the sizzling bacon.

"Hey, Amca!" I responded with a smile. His shocked expression turned into a wide smile.

"I like that." He said kindly. The other Guardians in the kitchen looked shocked at Pavel's soft demeanor.

"What does it mean?" Christopher asked from his spot around the dining table.

"It means 'uncle.'" Pavel said proudly. I sat at the bar next to Sydney, who, like I guessed, wasn't eating. Kyle and Jasper emerged from the hallway leading to the basement and sat at the table with Christopher and three other Guardians.

"What are you and the other Guardians doing today, Amca?" I asked digging into the food Pavel had set in front of me.

"I'm going to run them through a few more training exercises and then I'm going to have them become extremely familiar with the layout of the house." He said turning back to the stove.

"I have something that could help with training." Sydney supplied, looking nervous and excited.

"What is it?" Pavel asked focusing his attention on the Alchemist in his kitchen.

"It's a virtual simulation. The Alchemists have had some Guardians wear body cameras in order to track body movements of Strigoi. We entered the data into a program that simulates Strigoi attacks. You can have newly turned Strigoi or Ancients generated. We're hoping to get them implemented in the academies, at least for the senior Novices."

"That's a wonderful idea!" I said. "That would be so helpful! I know my first Strigoi encounter was terrifying, and I was nowhere near ready to take them on. If seniors could have practice fighting a Strigoi, even if it's a virtual one, they could be better prepared to face one when they graduate."

"That was kind of the idea," Sydney said rolling her eyes, though I could see she was pleased that The Alchemist's idea would be taken positively by the training Novices. "I'm assuming you have a large enough gym in this house that I could set up the simulation?"

"I don't know how large a gym you need, but we should," Pavel said nodded, his eyes shining bright with excitement.

"I'll put in a request," Sydney said pulling out her phone to send a text to someone. A soft ping came back almost immediately. "Do you have a day that someone could come by to install it?"

"Any day, any time," Pavel said with a shrug. He turned off the stove and set out large plates of food on the table, the Guardians rushed to grab the food while it was still hot.

"I'll let them know any time next week. It'll give me a chance to see if the space is big enough." Sydney said nodding. When she'd received confirmation, she pocketed her phone and turned back to me with a smile. "What are we shopping for?"

"I need something that works for both clubbing and fighting. Not only that, but I need something that will hide, or at least mask, my swords." I said patting my hip where my Khopesh would sit and reaching back where the Scimitar would rest on my back.

"Sexy but sensible. Got it." She said looking up at the ceiling in thought. "What about rompers? They make some that have a skirt that could hide your hip scabbard and your back scabbard could be made to look like a backpack. It wouldn't be as conspicuous."

"I like that idea. As long as we can find something that will work." I said.

"What about us?" Jasper called from the table, his mouth full of food.

"I thought you guys were going to be using stakes," I said with a smirk.

"Yes, but you want us to practice with swords. If we decide we want to use a sword, I'm not wearing a skirt to mask the fact that I have a hip scabbard." Christopher said, throwing his own smirk at me.

"You guys might benefit more from a back scabbard," Sydney said eyeing the three Guardians. "Of course, they do have some extendable swords a similar length of a stake that we could possibly acquire."

"I'm going to suggest a back scabbard, though. There's a lot that can go wrong with an extendable sword." I added and Sydney nodded in agreeance.

"So, normal clothes for us?" Kyle asked.

"Clubbing clothes for Jasper and Christopher. Kyle, you'll probably need to look more like a chauffeur or a bodyguard." I said.

"Speaking of chauffeurs." Baba's voice filtered into the room as the man himself entered. "I have a surprise for you, Rose."

"A surprise?" I asked sitting up straighter.

"Yes. It's out in the garage if you'd like to see it before you leave." Baba said as he turned his body slightly toward the garage. I jumped down from my spot at the bar and followed him out of the kitchen. Sydney and the guys followed close behind. I had a feeling that the guys were curious, but Sydney probably didn't want to be left in the kitchen with the other Guardians.

Baba opened the door that led out to the garage and motioned me through. I expected the garage to be filled with SUVs and town cars, but the only thing in this garage was a matte black Kawasaki Ninja.

"No way," I stated as my jaw dropped.

"Indeed. Way." Baba chuckled amusedly. "It's the fastest thing I could find. Kyle will be in charge of escorting Ms. Sage and her two Guardians, but you will be traveling separately. It will be hard for Christopher and Jasper to blend, even if they're in clubbing gear, just because they're built like Guardians. You, my dear, don't possess the stereotypical look for a female Guardian. It will be easier to believe that an Alchemist has two Guardians than for you to show up in non-Guardian gear with the other two."

"That's smart," I mumbled, running my hands along the body of the machine.

"I don't know how I feel not being able to have Rose with me all the time," Kyle said uneasily which made Baba smile.

"You don't have to worry about me, Kyle. I'll be fine. Taking two vehicles allows us to be separated if necessary." I said still studying my bike.

"The keys are on the wall when you get ready to leave, Kiz," Baba said with a large smile.

"Are you guys ready to leave?" I asked the group as they stood near the door. Sydney was eyeing the bike with a hint of envy while the others nodded in response. "You want to ride with me, Sage? There's an extra helmet." I said pointing to the two helmets that sat off to the side.

"Are you sure?" Sydney asked, the excitement clear in her voice.

"Yes, I'm sure." I laughed. "Will you guys be good to follow?" Kyle nodded, revealing keys in his hand as he opened the garage door. There were three shiny black SUVs sitting in the large driveway.

Kyle pressed the button on the fob and unlocked one of the SUVs before headed toward it. I passed one of the helmets over to Sydney and pulled the second one on myself. I slung a leg over the Ninja and sat down, adjusting to the feeling of the bike under me.

"Are you going to name him?" Christopher asked with a smirk.

"Do you think I should?" I responded. "What do you think of Sasha?"

"Alexander?" Christopher questioned, and I nodded. "I like it."

"I call shotgun!" Jasper called as the SUV roared to life. Christopher sprinted after him but lost by a fraction of a second.

"Boys," Sydney mumbled with a small smile.

"They grow on you." I laughed as she climbed on Sasha behind me. As Sasha roared to life, a shiver ran through Sydney and myself.

"Don't you love that feeling?" She asked. I could hear to smile in her voice but didn't answer as I took off out of the garage. I barely heard her squeal of happiness as it was drowned out by the exhaust system.

I flew down the road, daring a look over my shoulder to see Kyle trying to keep up. I heard a ringing from my helmet and looked down to see the phone symbol on the screen in front of me.

 _"Rose, you need to slow down so I can keep up with you."_ Kyle's voice came through when I hit the green answer button.

"Kyle, that would take the fun out of everything. Maybe you should just keep up." I said saucily.

 _"Rose. Slow down."_ Came the stern response. I rolled my eyes, knowing that he couldn't see me, but complied and slowed down. _"Thank you."_

"Where are we going, by the way?" I asked.

 _"Perhaps I should be in the lead."_ Kyle chuckled. I sighed but slowed down to let him pass by me so I could follow him to wherever we were heading. I hung up and enjoyed the ride, though at a slower pace than I wanted.

"Jasper is cute." Sydney's voice filtered through my helmet.

"You think so?" I asked with a smirk.

"Do you not?" She asked, avoiding my question.

"Eh. I mean yes, but I'm not really looking for anything. They've all kind of taken on brotherly roles." I said shrugging.

"What happened to Dimitri?" She asked softly after a while. "I mean, I know you accomplished the impossible. You created quite the uproar in the Alchemist community, but you're here and not with him. What happened?"

"He didn't want me," I whispered, fighting off tears. My chest constricted and I tightened my grip on the handlebars.

"I'm sorry, Rose," Sydney said, squeezing my waist tighter. It was surprisingly comforting.

"It's okay. I'm glad it happened, saving him, I mean." I said forcing a smile on my face to make myself feel happier.

"He doesn't deserve you if he doesn't appreciate all you've done for him. You're better off without him." I knew Sydney meant to make me feel better, but I couldn't help but feel differently.

Am I better off without him?


	7. Chapter 7

"My feet are killing me!" Christopher called out, dragging his feet for emphasis. He'd already made this declaration several times over the course of the morning's shopping escapades.

"Suck it up, you big baby," Sydney called out in a slightly annoyed tone. Over the past few hours, she'd become a lot more comfortable with the three Guardians, and they were accepting her into the fold just fine.

"Damn, Sage. Who knew you could be so savage." Jasper said with a smirk, and she rolled her eyes.

"Are you guys done complaining and bickering, or are we going to have to wait to decide where we're eating?" I asked a little irritated. I loved that they were getting along, but I was hungry, and their banter was hindering our food choice.

"Rosie's getting hangry, guys." Christopher teased, but after I growled he offered something helpful. "How about Junior's? They have _the_ _best_ cheesecake known to man."

"Cheesecake sounds wonderful," I said, happy now that the idea of food was actually on the table, pun kind of intended. "As long as there's protein thrown in there, too."

"They've plenty of protein-packed, grease infused meals. There's one a few blocks from here if that's where we decide we want to go." Christopher said and began leading the way.

We'd been trying to steer clear of Time's Square, but I could hear the hustle and bustle up ahead. However, before we got there, Christopher turned down Broadway. In the middle of the block was a clean white and orange building. It looked small compared to the surrounding theaters.

There were a lot of people already seated, but we were seated almost immediately. We placed our drink orders along with a few appetizers. Jasper and I had gotten Disco Fries, Christopher got the Thai Ginger BBQ Wings, and Kyle took the healthy option and got hummus. Sydney didn't get an appetizer which didn't surprise me, but I'd get that girl to eat more eventually.

"Alright, Rose." Kyle began in a serious tone with his hands clasped on the table causing the whole table to turn and look at me. "Why are we here? Why aren't you back at Court? You promised us answers."

"I know, I know. I've been trying to think of a way to tell you guys everything." I sighed.

"Well, let's start from the beginning. I know you and the Princess ran away, but why?" Sydney asked.

"Victor Dashkov was wanting to use Lissa's Spirit ability to heal himself," I answered.

"Why'd you go back then? It was only when you went back that Dashkov got another go at you, right?" Christopher asked.

"We didn't go back willingly," I said looking down at my hands. "Dimitri was the one they got to bring us back."

"Dimitri? As in the guy that hurt you?" Jasper asked irritated.

"Wait, Dimitri Belikov?" Kyle asked before I could respond to Jasper's question.

"Yeah, that's him. He was Lissa's Guardian after his first charge Ivan Zeklos was killed." I mumbled taking a long drink of water. "They sent him and a dozen other Guardians to Portland to bring us back to the academy. If I was stronger, I probably would have been able to take most of them, but Lissa stopped me. When we got back to the academy, Kirova was going to kick me out, but Dimitri convinced her to let me stay. He was tasked with mentoring me after I'd missed two years of training."

"Did he take advantage of you? As your mentor, I mean." Kyle asked gently.

"No. No, nothing like that. Though, if you ask him, he might tell you a different story. He's the kind of guy that always tries to do the right thing, even if it's far from being the right thing." I said. "We fell in love. We didn't mean to, it just happened. We fought it for as long as we could. We'd finally given into our feelings when the Strigoi attacked the academy."

"He fell," Sydney stated. I'd never told her my whole story, just enough to answer her questions at the time.

"Not during the attack," I said. "Some were taken during the attack. I figured out where they were being taken and we launched a rescue mission. They didn't know we would be coming for those taken, they were careless, but they were stronger than us. We were so close to getting everyone out. Dimitri was the last one in the caves. That's when he fell.

"I watched as Nathan sank his fangs into Dimitri's neck. His eyes held mine as the life drained out of him. My mother dragged me out of the caves, kicking a screaming, and back behind the wards. I thought they were going to kill him, but when we went back for the fallen, his body wasn't there. He'd been turned."

"You were in Russia to kill him, correct?" Sydney asked softly as the server was delivering our appetizers. I waited until he was gone to answer.

"Yes. We'd made a promise to each other that if we were to be turned, we'd want someone to kill us. I took it upon myself to go after him. On my eighteenth birthday, I dropped out of the academy and made my way to Russia. I found him eventually, but he was waiting for me. He took me, kept me, fed from me. I don't know how long I was there, but eventually, I broke out. I killed the one running the operations and fled from the estate.

"Dimitri came after me. He hunted me for miles through the woods. He caught up to me as I was getting closer to a town. We had a face-off on an old bridge. By luck and luck alone, I staked him. I thought I had killed the man that I loved, but it turns out I didn't get the stake in far enough. He fell off the bridge, and the stake fell out of him. He sent it back to me when I'd made it back to the academy."

"He sent you your stake back?" Jasper asked shocked.

"Technically, it was his stake. I still have it. He told me in a note that came with it that he was coming for me when I graduated. He sent me several notes after that, all saying that I couldn't run, couldn't hide from him. He would find me and kill me. The day after I thought I'd killed him, we learned of a legend, a myth, of restoring a Strigoi to its former state."

"But it wasn't just a myth, was it?" Sydney asked raising an eyebrow. I smirked and shook my head.

"After I graduated, I hunted the myth. I figured out what I need to do to get my Dimitri back. I succeeded, but while his body was restored, his mind was scarred." I said taking another drink. The server came then and took our lunch orders.

"He pushed you away because of what he did in Russia," Kyle stated after the server had left, and I nodded in response.

"While I was in Russia looking for Dimitri, I met up with a few rogue Dhampirs. We hunted, torturing and killing Strigoi all over the city trying to get information. While I had a purpose for hunting, the rogues were doing it to rid the world of another Strigoi. After Dimitri finally broke me, I decided that's what I wanted to do. I want to do something good with my life, and protecting one Moroi isn't going to do that."

"You're a strong woman, Rose," Christopher said placing a hand on top of mine as it was shaking slightly from the recollection of events.

"Thanks," I said with a weak smile. Just then, I saw our food heading toward us and straightened in my seat. My stomach growled, alerting me to my previous hunger. After everyone had their food in front of them, I picked up my Something Different and took a massive bite.

I moaned in relief as I chewed the greasy goodness.

"Rosie. We talked about this." Christopher said as he cut into his steak.

"Sorry," I mumbled with my mouth full. Kyle chuckled as he bit into a deep-fried piece of cod. Jasper ignored Christopher and I as he tore into his BBQ ribs. Sydney just looked confused as she gently stabbed a piece of lettuce.

"So, that's why I'm here?" Sydney asked after a while of quiet chewing. "I'm here to take care of the bodies as they pile up."

"Partially. Abe said you're trained with a tattoo gun. I want credit for the kills we make. We're all promised Guardians, and I think we should bear the marks of those we kill. I was also hoping that you can use this as a research opportunity. I know it's not always easy getting your hands on Strigoi to experiment on, but we can attempt to help in the name of science." I said shrugging as I finished off my sandwich.

"In the name of science…" She chuckled. "I do have a few things that I would like to try. We've discovered a few things from what we've been able to do, but we don't have a good enough relationship with the Guardians to have them try our inventions."

"Well, I think you've established a pretty good relationship with at least four Guardians that can test out your inventions," I said excitement running through me.

"I'll see what they have ready for field testing," Sydney said pulling out her phone.

"Who wants dessert?" Jasper asked, looking over the dessert menu.

"That's the whole reason we came here, right?" I asked with a laugh.

"If I get something and don't eat it all, will you eat the rest of it?" Sydney asked almost shyly.

"As long as it's chocolate," I said with a grin.

"Is there any other kind of dessert?" She responded with a laugh.

"Yes, actually. Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake, just enough fruit to let you trick yourself into thinking it's healthy." Kyle said raising his nose indignantly.

"Carrot Cake Cheesecake will allow you the same sort of misguided thinking." Jasper offered.

"Or you could stop kidding yourself and accept that you're going to eat a butt-load of chocolate and get a Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake," I said sweetly.

We all placed our dessert orders, Sydney decided on the Devil's Food Cheesecake to split with me and Christopher forwent cheesecake all together and got the Coffee Mountain High Sundae.

"Christopher, haven't you learned that eating to an excess is bad for your future self?" I asked after the server had left to put in our orders.

"I have learned that, but the promise of delicious food is worth the unwanted pain." He said with a blissful look on his face.

"I don't see how you guys eat so much on a normal basis," Sydney said.

"You know how we eat more than normal human beings and definitely more than Moroi. I'd say you live more on a Moroi diet, obviously without the blood part, though." Jasper said and chuckled as Sydney shuttered when he mentioned blood.

"I have a feeling that Rose is going to make me eat more while I'm here." She said sneaking an annoyed glace in my direction. I nodded and smiled triumphantly.

"How did you two meet?" Kyle asked after observing our encounter.

"Rose here was being stupid and leaving dead Strigoi out in the open," Sydney responded. The three Guardians looked at me in horror.

"Hey! I hadn't graduated, that's when they usually tell you about the secret organization that helps Guardians get rid of the bodies. I was dragging them into the open so the sun would take care of them!" I defended.

"I followed the string of dead Strigoi and found her. She saved me from a Strigoi that had been following me. During her time in Russia, I took care of more than a few dead bodies for her and her gang of rogues." Sydney said practically ignoring my defense.

"They weren't _my_ gang of rogues." I scoffed. "They were helping me find Dimitri. It's hard to track a Strigoi on your own."

"Rose, I know you don't know this, so I'm going to tell you," Sydney said, leaning forward with a serious expression on her face. "During your time in Russia, Strigoi killings went up about 400% and dropped again when you were taken. The training you did with those rogues, they passed on. While Strigoi killings never reached the level they were at with you, they've gone up because of what you taught _your_ gang of rogues."

I sat there stunned while she sat back in her chair, taking a leisurely sip of her water. Christopher and Jasper were looking excited at the prospect of going hunting with me while Kyle was looking like his normal worried self.

"I guess that makes up your gang, Rosie," Christopher said nudging my shoulder and effectively breaking me out of my daze.

"That makes us sound like Scooby-Doo," I said laughing.

"As long as I can be the Fred to you're Daphne," Christopher said with a wink.

"Does that make me Velma?" Sydney asked.

"Wait, that leaves us Shaggy and Scooby," Jasper said gesturing to himself and Kyle.

"Who's who?" I asked with a smirk. Kyle and Jasper shared a look before they declared their decision at the same time.

"I'm Scooby." As the words came out of their mouths they both turned and glared at each other.

"Guys, we're not Mystery Inc," I stated with a laugh.

"Fine, but can we at least think of it as a group costume for Halloween?" Christopher asked hope gleaming in his eyes.

"If it will make you happy," I said with a sigh. "As long as those two figure out who's going to be Shaggy."

Christopher adopted a large smile as Kyle and Jasper fell into a heated debate. I ignored them as a large piece of chocolate mousse cheesecake was set in front of me. I looked over at Sydney to see her eyes opened wide as she stared at her equally large piece of Devil's Food Cheesecake.

"You okay there, Sage?" Jasper asked with a smirk, turning his attention away from Kyle.

"This is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be." She mumbled before shrugging and digging in. In a very un-Sydney-like manner, she released a soft moan as the chocolate coated her tongue.

"Sydney, you're going to follow the same 'No-Moaning' rule that Rose has to follow," Christopher said pausing in the deconstruction of his giant sundae.

"Why does Rose have a 'No-Moaning' rule?" Sydney asked after wiping her face of excess chocolate.

"Because it does things to me." He responded with a smirk. "And I'm not taking any chances with Pavel or Abe."

"Pavel? How can you be scared of Pavel? He's, like, the sweetest man." Sydney said much in the same way that I had when Christopher told me he might be scared of Pavel.

"You two have no idea!" The three of them cried. Sydney and I both sat back in our chairs in shock.

"Geez, no need to be testy," I said holding up my hands in a defensive gesture.

"I just don't see how Pavel could take such a quick liking to an Alchemist," Jasper said a little peevishly.

"The same way you took such a quick liking to me," Sydney responded with a smirk.

"I'm hoping not that same way." Jasper quipped back. He quickly trapped Sydney's hand in his and placed a sensual kiss on the back of it. I couldn't help the smirk that spread across my face as Sydney's face developed a blush.

"Get a room already," Christopher mumbled.

"Are you ready to go?" Kyle asked, mainly for the purpose of breaking Jasper and Sydney apart.

"Ready. Are you ready to go back to shopping?" I asked.

"Rose, I think you've got plenty of things," Kyle said.

"Nah, Kyle," Jasper said sarcastically. "She's just got a dozen rompers with long skirts, a couple cloaks, and a few dozen pairs of killer heels. She needs more."

"Hey, no one asked for your opinion," I said standing from the table leading the way out of the restaurant.

"No one ever does, yet he gives it anyway," Christopher said solemnly. I looked up and down Broadway.

"Well, if you guys don't want to keep shopping, should we visit locations for hunting?" I asked trying to ignore the feeling that was creeping into my stomach.

"Yeah, there's one not too far from here," Jasper said taking the lead. I continued to look around, trying to pinpoint to the source of my feeling.

We followed as Jasper led us past several different theaters until he stopped right in front of one. The façade of the building looked old and run down, but Jasper stood in front of it looking quite pleased with himself. The marquee said this was Webster Hall.

"This place looks abandoned," Sydney said crossing her arms and looking at Jasper expectantly.

"It was. Since being abandoned, though, the place has been gutted and turned into a popular place for the kids to rave."

"You make yourself sound so old," I said with a laugh.

"I'm well past my raving days." He said with a haunted look in his eyes.

"Well, you best be getting back into your raving days, because we'll most likely be coming here," I said looking back at the building. "The stairwells to either side of the entrance, where do they lead to?"

"I think they go to the basement, but they usually keep them locked. They filter people into the basement through the main building, but if you tried hard enough you could probably get in and out by those stairs." Jasper answered.

"Any other entrances?" Kyle asked from beside me.

"There's a rooftop entrance, it leads to a catwalk, takes quite a bit of work to get to. There isn't a lot of seating area, but there are plenty of dark corners and typically a crowded dance floor." Jasper provided.

"How many other locations should we check out?" I asked turning back to the group.

"I think that we should have six or so locations in mind, but we shouldn't hunt every night or in any certain pattern," Kyle said. "We don't want anyone figuring out a pattern and setting up a trap for us."

"I agree. Maybe we should have Pavel choose a random location on a random day so even we don't know." Sydney suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea, but not just any random day, I don't want to go more than three days in between hunting," I said. "We won't be hunting for another week, but I'd like to be able to check out where we'll be so I can think up scenarios as backup plans for each location, just in case."

"I like the way you think," Kyle said throwing an arm around my shoulder. "Let's go get your bike and the car, and we'll head to the next location."

I wore a smile as we headed back to our vehicles, but I couldn't shake the strange feeling that I was having. I'd felt it slightly all day, but ever since we left the restaurant, the feeling has grown. I can't say that it was a bad feeling.

It felt like I was being watched, but not being watched in a menacing way, but in a protective way. Every time I looked in the direction I felt the eyes coming from, there was no one there, just tourists taking pictures or people pushing flyers in your face. The feeling always disappeared when I went looking for the source. It was starting to make me feel crazy.

"Rose, are you okay?" Christopher's voice brought me back. His hand cupped my cheek, worry lacing his voice and filled his eyes. His eyes flicked across my face, and I felt the feeling return.

"Yeah. I've just got this feeling I can't shake." I said glancing back over my shoulder, and, again, the feeling disappeared. I felt Christopher tense in front of me, and I turned back to him. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's just because I'm in the city. I'm not really a city girl."

"Even I could tell you that." Jasper scoffed from behind Christopher. I peeked around the Guardian in front of me and glared at him. "I mean, you're fitting right in. I would never have been able to tell that you aren't comfortable in the city."

"Mhmm…that's what I thought," I said still glaring. Christopher grabbed my hand, still looking behind me and continued walking toward where we'd parked our vehicles. Only when Christopher turned and faced in the direction we were walking did I feel the eyes return to me.

I glanced back over my shoulder once more when I saw it. It was quick, faster than a human, but it disappeared almost as soon as my eyes registered it was there.

"Come on, Rose." I heard Sydney call, cutting me off from turning around and running after whoever, or whatever, I just saw. Sydney was standing by Sasha, helmet in hand, looking very ready to mount the machine again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I said laughing. I picked up my pace and grabbed the second helmet from her. When I felt the eyes return to me seconds later, I forced myself not to look. I wasn't getting a negative vibe, so I might as well let them watch over us.

As we visited each location, the feeling stayed with me and my curiosity grew. Who was watching me?


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, Kiz! I see that the shopping adventure was successful." Baba greeted when we pulled back up to the house.

I was still getting used to the city so I relinquished navigation to Kyle yet again, but as soon as we were on the road that led back to the house, I sped ahead of him to beat him home, just barely. Soon, I'll be able to zip through the city at whatever pace I want without being held back by Kyle's grandpa-driving. Kyle, Jasper, and Christopher were starting to unload their bags but left mine and Sydney's for us to take ourselves.

"Absolutely, Baba!" I said with a large grin. I'd barely reached for a bag when the other Guardians filed out of the house and started grabbing more. They stood to the side, bags in hand, waiting for instructions from either Sydney, Baba, or myself.

"You three can follow me," Sydney said hesitantly. She didn't trust Guardians easily, and, honestly, I was surprised that she trusted Jasper, Kyle, and Christopher so quickly today.

"And the rest of you can follow me," I said chipperly bounding up the front steps and into the house. Since I was a little more enthusiastic about getting my purchases upstairs, I took the lead and led my Guardians straight up the stairs into my room. "You can just set them on the couches."

They all nodded, and upon setting their packages down, they abruptly left the room. I called a thanks after them, but I got no response. I sifted through the mountain of bags and first pulled out my shoes. Jasper was being a bit overdramatic when relaying my purchases to the group. I'd only gotten a dozen pairs of shoes, not a few dozen, there's a huge difference.

I had gotten a pair of heels that went with each of my rompers, but I didn't just get rompers. I got a range of clubbing clothes: jeans, shorts, miniskirts, crop tops, t-shirts, dresses. I placed my shoes around the baseboard of my closet, lining a third of my closet. I suppose I could get more shoes to fill all of the closet.

I hung up my dresses, skirts, and rompers. Sydney had somehow found these skirts that could double as a cloak, and I got one in black and one in white. She was hesitant to let me get one in white because it would most likely be drenched in blood by the end of the night, but I got it anyway.

I placed my bottoms and tops in their respective drawers of my dresser, snipping off tags as I went. After I'd put everything away I stood back and observed the mess that I'd made. My bed was covered in white price tags and my seating area was littered with multicolored shopping bags.

I swept all the tags into a bag and gathered the rest of the trash before going to the kitchen. It was getting close to dinner time, and my stomach was making itself known again. I shoved my trash into the garbage can and looked around. There wasn't a Guardian in sight and I was surprised not to see my father or Pavel in the kitchen.

I heard faint sounds coming from the basement and figured that everyone was in the gym. I ran upstairs to get dressed into something more gym-appropriate. Sydney was still organizing her belongings, both what she'd brought with her this morning and what we'd bought today.

"Everyone is in the gym when you get done," I called as I passed her room heading back downstairs.

The closer I got to the gym the more shouts I heard. Something was wrong. There's never this much yelling, not from multiple people. I expected yelling from Pavel or a single Guardian, but not several. I picked up my pace and froze in the doorway.

Eight Guardians were in the process of holding Christopher, Kyle, and Jasper back from a huddled mass in the middle of the floor. Baba had a hand placed on Pavel's chest, effectively holding him back, though Pavel's face was stormy.

Christopher was shouting obscenities while Kyle and Jasper were yelling at the Guardians holding them back.

"What's going on?" I asked loudly causing everyone to stop and turn to me other than the huddled mass. I kept my eyes on the unknown figure as it tensed in its spot on the ground. Christopher, Kyle, and Jasper broke from their captors and formed a strong line in front of me, blocking my view of the figure who'd begun to stand.

"Kiz, let me explain." Baba began as Pavel shot him a dirty look. "I need you to keep a cool head about this."

"That's not a good way to get me to keep a cool head about anything, Baba," I said, but he didn't continue. "Amca, are you going to tell me?"

"I didn't want this, Yeğen," Pavel said looking apologetic.

"Didn't want what?" I asked trying to look around the wall of bodies, but Christopher held me back, and I didn't fight him.

My heart froze, as did the rest of my body when the mass stood completely. He was bruised and bloody, but he stood tall. Despite his imposing height, he looked small, small and broken.

"Roza." He breathed looking at me. I felt the three Guardians around me tense, and I heard Pavel faintly growl.

"Kiz, let me explain," Baba said gently.

"No," I whispered.

"Kiz…" Baba tried again, but I started shaking my head.

"No," I whispered again, stronger this time. Christopher pushed me behind him as Dimitri took a step toward me, and I clung to him. Kyle took my hand and pulled me to his side as I fought off the tears.

"Roza, please…" Dimitri said, a flash of anger crossing his face as Christopher and Kyle protected me.

"No," I said louder. "No."

He took another step toward me, and I tensed. Each second that passed my anger grew. Anger at myself for being so weak. I wanted to run to him. He looked broken, lost. I wanted to help him, I wanted to take his pain and mix it with my own.

I was angry at Baba for bringing him here. It's obvious that Pavel knew what had happened, he didn't want him here either. Baba knew the only person that could get me to leave Court and Lissa was Dimitri. He had to know that something happened between us, he probably knew exactly what had happened, too, but he brought him to me anyway.

I was angry at Dimitri. He did this. He pushed me away. He had to know that I had a breaking point, and he did everything in his power to find mine. He found it, he broke me. In turn, it seems he'd broken himself, too.

I was angry. The anger fueled me. Everyone's anger fueled me. I took Christopher's. I took Jasper's. I took Kyle's. I took Pavel's. I took Baba's and Dimitri's pain, and I used it to fuel myself, to make me stronger. I would never be weak because of this man ever again.

"Roza, stop! You have to stop!" Dimitri cried out as I felt the entire room, other than myself, relax.

"You," I growled in a voice that wasn't my own. "You don't get to tell me what to do."

"Roza, this isn't you," Dimitri said, my words producing more fear.

"That's where you're wrong, Dimitri. This is me. I've embraced who I am, what I can become. If it wasn't for you, I never would have gotten this far, so I really should be thanking you."

Dimitri took another step forward as the rest of the room scrambled to get as far from me as possible. I let the Darkness flow through me, but I was in control. Despite what Dimitri thought, and what I was leading him to believe, I was in total control.

Black smoky tendrils trailed down my arms, looking like tattoos as they danced over my skin. They were soft, almost like feathers. Dimitri was coming closer. He was about five feet from me now, looking scared but determined. I reached a tendril out and stroked his face. He tensed as the Darkness approached him and winced as it met his skin, but his expression turned shocked.

"It's not what you thought it was, Dimitri," I said softly. Using anger to fuel the Darkness had left me calm and focused. "It never was. I control it, I feed it. It obeys me because I'm not scared of it anymore."

"But it can still harm, Roza." He said looking pained.

"It can't harm me, not anymore," I said pulling it back. "But it can hurt others. It's silent. It takes all your negative emotions, leaving you feeling at peace, and then it strikes."

"You need to stop." He whispered again.

"No," I said a little more forceful than the last time before turning the attention away from me. "Why are you here, Dimitri?"

"I'm here for a job." He stated.

"Not as a Guardian, not here," I said looking over at Baba. Pavel was standing protectively in front of him, looking unsure who to trust, himself or me. "Baba, I don't approve of having this man in the house. You said the final decision was up to me, and I don't approve."

"Roza?" Dimitri's pained voice made me flinch.

"Dimitri, I can't have you here. I refuse. You broke me, and I hate to admit it, but I still love you despite all you've done. Your time as a Strigoi was not your fault, that wasn't you, but the man that came back from that warehouse was not the man I fell in love with. I know that now. The man I fell in love with died in a cave in Montana, and there's nothing I can do to get him back."

"No, Roza. That's not true." Dimitri said tears in his eyes. His hands reached out to me, but the Darkness blocked him from truly reaching me. "I couldn't handle your love when I was restored. When you left, I felt my heart leave with you. I watched that plane leave begging for it to turn around, for you to run into my arms. I regretted the words as soon as I said them, but I couldn't take them back. I tried to find you, to apologize for everything, but you were already leaving, and I thought I'd lost my only chance at happiness."

"You're not completely wrong. You lost your only chance at happiness with me." I said looking into his eyes. Pain flooded his face, and his body sagged. "Your happiness isn't here. Your happiness is with your family, with someone that will love you, someone that you will love. I'm not that person, not anymore."

He was crumbling before me, and I knew I needed to stop, but I couldn't stop. I needed him to feel what I felt, the pain and heartache. I needed him to feel his heart ripped out of his chest like mine had been in the caves. I needed him to feel the fear I felt when I was hunting across Russia, locked in his prison. He needed to know the pain I felt when I pushed a stake into his chest. The pain that came with seeing him every night in my dreams, his eyes rimmed with a crimson red.

"I lied to you that day, Roza," Dimitri said quietly. "My love for you could never fade. My love for you is stronger than anything I've ever felt. I was scared, scared to let you get hurt again. I was scared to hurt you, but I did, one last ounce of pain and you were free. I did what I thought would free you from me. I did what I had to do to set you free."

"You accomplished your task," I said, but he continued on as if I hadn't said anything.

"I'm weak and selfish. I'm weak because I couldn't accept that you were there for me, that you'd forgiven me for what I'd done in Russia, what I did in Las Vegas, in Pennsylvania, in that warehouse. I was weak when I pushed you away, but I'm even weaker now because I don't have you to keep me strong. I'm selfish because I thought I knew what was best for you, what was going to help you, but it was to help me. I'm selfish because I want you back, I need you back." He said, pushing back the force of the Darkness and easing his way forward.

I tried to keep the Darkness in place, but his loving emotion was too strong, stronger than my pain, stronger than my anger. When his entire body had broken through the Darkness, it dissipated like the smoke it was. The overwhelming sense of love was left in its place.

"I refuse to leave until I have you back. It might not be right now, it might not be tomorrow or even this week. Hell, it might not be this month, this year, but I'm not pushing you away anymore. I'm going to stay by your side whether you like it or not. I'm not a Guardian stationed at this house, so you don't get the final say in anything. I'm _your_ Guardian, sworn to protect you and you alone."

" _My_ Guardian?" I asked breathlessly.

"I hired him to keep you safe. It's not that I don't trust these boys, but I'm not taking any chances. I will have the best Guardian protecting my daughter if she's going to be out hunting Strigoi." Baba said fiercely.

"You mean he'll be going hunting with us?" Christopher questioned loudly.

"Wherever Rose goes, Dimitri goes," Baba said narrowing his eyes at Christopher, begging for a challenge. Dimitri hadn't taken his eyes off me during the short conversation. I could feel his eyes on me, like I had all day.

"You were following us today," I stated.

"Wherever you go, I go, too." He responded. His aftershave had started to invade my senses, and I knew I needed to get out of here. I took a step back, desperate to put space between us.

"Kyle, Christopher, Jasper, will you go for a run with me?" I asked still backing away from Dimitri. His fists clenched as I called to my actual Guardians.

"Sure thing, Rosie," Christopher said heading to the door, the other two following his lead. I turned and practically sprinted out of the gym.

I heard Dimitri calling after me, but I kept on my path. I ran faster, not waiting for the guys. I needed out of the house. I needed to get away from him. His scent was invading my senses, clouding my judgment. His words were breaking down my walls, and his overwhelming emotions were pulling me toward him.

I left the guys in the sand, sprinting ahead of them. I heard them try to stop Dimitri, but from the amount of shouting, Dimitri had gotten past them. I ran harder, trying to put as much distance between myself and the love of my life.

He might not push me away anymore, but that doesn't change the fact that he already pushed me away. He pushed too far, and there's no going back. He can try all he wants, but I'm not going back.

My mind was made up, but my heart wasn't listening. My chest ached being away from him, I felt peace being in his presence. His pain was my pain. His happiness, mine. I wasn't lying when I said that he'd lost his chance at happiness with me, but what I didn't tell him was that I'd missed my chance at happiness forever by pushing him away.

The truth is, I couldn't let myself get hurt again. If I took him back, he had the chance to hurt me. I wouldn't survive him hurting me again. I'd rather live an unhappy life than to die from the heartache he could cause me.

"Roza!" I heard from behind me. _'Wherever you go, I go, too.'_ That's what he had said, I guess he wasn't lying this time. I pushed my legs to go faster, hoping to wear him down. I could keep this pace for longer than he could. There was no way that he could catch me.

Suddenly, something hit the sand around my feet. I looked back and Dimitri was running a several yards behind me gun in hand.

"Are you shooting at me?" I yelled at him, slowing my pace before picking it back up again.

"If you would stop, I wouldn't have to," Dimitri called firing a couple more shots at my feet.

I stopped abruptly, sending a tendril out and wrenching the gun from his hand. This didn't seem to faze him as he continued on his pace toward me. I planted my feet as firmly in the sand as I could, the Darkness at my command.

I put up a wall between us, thinking that it would hold. He jumped head-first, arms outstretched right through my wall and tackled me to the ground. I was stunned as he gripped my wrists and pulled them above my head, using the rest of his body to pin me down. Not only was he at an advantage because he was bigger than me, but every time I moved and wriggled to get out of his grasp, the sand shifted, and I sunk further in.

"Stop fighting me." He whispered in my ear as I continued to struggle.

"Get off of me!" I screamed and fought harder. I tried using the Darkness again, but it seemed to shy away from Dimitri.

"Stop fighting." He whispered again, his voice calm as his lips brushed against my earlobe. I kept struggling. If I didn't get out of his grip soon, I'd give in. I'd take him back, and I think he knew it.

I knew my struggle was in vain, so I stopped. Dimitri's grip on me didn't lessen as he kept his lips by my ear.

"Stop fighting me." He whispered once again before placing a kiss on my cheek. He moved back to my jaw, following the bone to my chin and moved to the other side of my face. "Roza, stop fighting."

"My name is Rose, Guardian Belikov. I suggest you either call me that or Guardian Hathaway." I said in the coldest voice I could produce. I knew he probably felt the pounding of my heart, but I wasn't going to stop fighting. If I stopped fighting, I would get hurt again. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, get off of me."

Dimitri pulled back to look down at me, but I kept my face expressionless. I willed my eyes to show no emotion, and if the look on his face was any indication, I succeeded. He nodded curtly and rolled off of me. I quickly stood and brushed the sand off of my clothing while he sat in the sand staring up at me.

I could see Christopher and Jasper getting closer, Kyle and Pavel not too far behind. I quickly made my way toward them, and without a word, the two leading the pack placed an arm around me and steered me back to the house while Kyle and Pavel kept heading to Dimitri.

I steeled my heart against Dimitri's words. I forced myself to be stronger. I pulled my strength from the men beside me. I'd get over Dimitri but not without help.

"Are you okay?" Jasper asked when we were almost back at the house.

"I will be," I said with a small smile. When we entered the house, all conversation stopped. Sydney walked up to me and wrapped me in a tight hug.

"We're all here for you. He's not going to get to you. He may be your Guardian, but he's nothing more." She said fiercely. She turned to glare over my shoulder, and I turned to see Dimitri quickly making his way up the beach.

"Thanks, Sydney. I really appreciate it, you guys." I said hugging her back. "I'll be upstairs in my room. Try to keep him away from me."

"That's going to be kind of hard when his room is right next to yours." Christopher seethed.

"I figured as much." I sighed but headed for the stair anyway.

I'd reached the second story landing when I heard Dimitri calling out for me.

"Where is she?" He asked.

"She's avoiding you, and if I were you, I'd let her." Christopher's voice floated up to me.

"You don't know anything. I'm trying to fix the mess I made." Dimitri said sounding angry.

"I know exactly what you did, so please do us all a favor and just be her Guardian. Worry about guarding her body, you've already caused so much pain to her heart." Jasper said.

Dimitri didn't respond but I heard shuffling toward the stairs. I dashed the rest of the way to my room as silently as I could. I shut and locked the door behind me. I pressed my back against the door and slid down it, leaning my head back with a small thump.

Mere seconds later, I heard footsteps in the hallway stopping right outside my door. They hesitated the for a minute before turning. I thought they would move away, but I didn't hear any retreating footsteps. There was a dull thud and the sound of sliding come from the other side of the door.

Dimitri had sat down outside my door. My heart broke for the second time this week as I heard the soft sound of crying emanating from behind me, and I cried with him.


	9. Chapter 9

I awoke to the sound of voices. I sat up, my neck stiff from my uncomfortable position where I'd passed out last night. I hadn't left my spot in front of the door, and apparently, Dimitri hadn't either.

"What are you doing out here?" I heard Pavel's stern voice come from the other side of the door.

"This was as close as I could get to her." His voice responded quietly sounding tired and hoarse. "She's still too far away."

"Were you out here all night?" Pavel asked after a few moments of silence. I assumed that Dimitri answered silently because Pavel continued. "You need sleep, Belikov."

I heard a sigh come from Dimitri and a shuffling from right outside the door. A few seconds later, I heard a door close softly further down the hall. There were another few seconds before a soft knock upon my door.

"It's me, Yeğen, open up." Pavel's voice drifted through. I stood up quickly and unlocked the door. I didn't know what I looked like but based on Pavel's expression, I looked terrible.

He quickly wrapped me in his arms and began whispering to me in Turkish as I buried my face in his chest. It surprised me how comfortable and safe I felt being hugged by someone as serious as Pavel, but I suppose I found comfort in Dimitri's arms at one point.

"I told your father to keep him away from you." He said angrily pulling back to look at me. Though his voice was angry, his face was gentle. "I told him several times that this was a horrible idea, but he didn't listen to me. He kept saying he was repaying a debt to an old friend."

"What old friend could possibly make him want to have Dimitri here after – " I stopped myself knowing there was only one person that could possibly be calling on Abe Mazur for an unpaid debt.

"What is it?" Pavel asked cautiously.

"Yeva," I growled.

"Yeva?" Pavel repeated before understanding flooded his face. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh," I said rubbing my face. "It's okay. I'll try my best to just ignore him as long as you guys try your best to keep him from getting me alone."

"I can assure you, we'll do everything in our power," Pavel said bringing me into another hug. "Now, would you like to go for a run? Well, a jog for you, but a run for me?"

"That'd be wonderful," I said laughing quietly. I quickly went into my closet to get changed. When I came back out, Pavel was standing guard outside my door, mainly looking in the direction of Dimitri's room.

"You ready?" He asked looking down at my bare feet.

"Yep. I hate running in shoes on the sand." I said moving toward the stairs.

We ran in silence enjoying the early morning sun. The old couples that I had seen the past two mornings were sitting on their back porches and automatically waved as we ran past. I used the rhythmic pattern of my footfalls to calm my mind and prepare myself for the rest of the day. I needed to prepare my mind for Dimitri's presence. He was going to be there the entire time, probably never more than a few yards away from me at all times.

I needed to prepare myself for the protective nature Pavel, Christopher, Jasper, and Kyle were going to adopt. I needed to prepare myself not to be mad at Baba. It wasn't necessarily his fault for bringing Dimitri here. I knew what Yeva was like and how hard it was to defy her wishes. If she wanted Dimitri here, there was no way Dimitri wasn't going to be here.

We ran down the beach until Pavel started slowing down, and then we turned around and headed back to the house. When we reached the house, Dimitri was standing just inside the entrance with his arms folded across his chest and an angry look on his face.

"Where were you?" He asked in a calm voice. I didn't respond to him and instead headed to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of water and a banana from the fruit bowl. Pavel gave him a shrug and followed me to the kitchen. "Guardian Hathaway, I'm meant to be your guardian. I need to know when you're going out if I'm to do my job."

"It isn't my job to inform you when I'll be going out, Guardian Belikov, especially if I don't want you as my Guardian," I responded looking at him expressionlessly before turning to Pavel with a smile on my face. "Would you like to start training or should I wake the boys first?"

"You should probably wake the boys first," Pavel said with an amused grin. I couldn't tell if the grin was in response to my comment to Dimitri or the idea of me waking the rest of our training party. "I'll go see if Sydney wants to join us. Will you be okay?"

I nodded and started making my way downstairs to Kyle's room. I was going to start with the easier of the three to wake first, then move on to the other two. As expected, when I knocked on Kyle's door there was a small thump from inside the room before he quickly opened the door. He only had on pajama bottoms, and his hair was disheveled, the sleep still evident in his eyes.

"Hey, Rose." He said with a tired smile before it turned into a sneer as he caught sight of Dimitri behind me.

"Hey, we're going to start training as soon as I have the other two up," I said trying to ignore the pull I felt toward Dimitri.

"I'll be there. Good luck trying to get those two up." Kyle said laughing before he closed the door to his room.

I moved on to Jasper's room next, not bothering to knock. Jasper was sleeping peacefully on his back in the middle of his bed.

"Jasper," I called out to him. A facial twitch was the only indication he gave as to hearing me. I let out a sigh and moved to the edge of his bed and sat down. Another facial twitch accompanied the movement I caused. I poked his face and was rewarded with yet another facial twitch.

"Jasper!" I called loudly. His face twisted into a scowl but he opened an eye warily and looked over at me.

"Why are you yelling?" He asked gruffly.

"Because you wouldn't wake up when I wasn't yelling." I chuckled. "You need to get up for training. If you're lucky, Sydney will be there." I finished with a wink, and he was quickly making his way out of bed.

I laughed at his eagerness and moved on to Christopher. Like with Jasper, I didn't bother knocking and walked straight into his room. Christopher was sprawled across his bed, one foot hanging off the edge, his sheets tangled around his body. He was like Kyle in that he was only wearing pajama pants, but unlike Kyle's muted blue plaid, Christopher pants were an obnoxiously loud fuschia with neon yellow pineapples.

"Christopher!" I called out in a sing-song voice. He groaned and rolled over, burying his face in a pillow and mumbling incoherently. "Come on, Christopher, it's time to train."

"Go away, Rosie." I heard him mumble. I rolled my eyes and jumped up on the bed.

"Get up, Christopher." I laughed as I bounced up and down.

"What are you, six?" He grumbled before grabbing my legs. I squealed as I flopped down beside him on the bed. He threw an arm and a leg across my body trying to keep me in place. "Sleep, Rosie, it's good for you."

"Christopher," I said sternly not attempting to escape his poor grip. "You need to get up."

"Why?" He whined.

"Because I said so," I responded childishly.

"Wow, thanks, Mom." He grumbled rolling his eyes. However, he did let me get up. I quickly rolled off the bed and landed gently on my fingers and the balls of my feet.

"Are you going to get up?" I asked him placing my hand on my hips after I stood up straight.

"Yes. I'm getting up." He groaned throwing the covers off of him overdramatically.

"Good," I responded chipperly and skipped out of his room. I heard him chuckle behind me. I continued skipping all the way down the hall and into the gym. Pavel was already there with my swords. I skipped over to him and took my weapons off of him to strap onto myself.

"Does the harness fit okay?" He asked.

"Like a second skin," I said smiling up at him.

"Looking good, Rosie," Jasper said entering the gym. He smiled at me before scowling at Dimitri who'd taken up position near the back corner.

"Feeling good, Jasper," I said with a smirk. I turned back to Pavel bouncing eagerly on the balls of my feet. "So, what are we doing first?"

"We aren't doing anything with weapons first." He told me with an amused expression that made my face fall. "We're going to get you used to fighting with the swords attached to you. It isn't that you'll be fighting without your weapons drawn, but if we can get you used to fighting with them sheathed, you'll also be able to dance and move more easily in the club. It will make it less conspicuous."

"So, we need to get weapons for those three," I said gesturing to my hunting partners now that they'd all shown up.

"Yep," Pavel responded with a firm nod. "I suggest they all have the same sword just in case one loses theirs during a battle, any of them can pick up the weapon and use it just as well."

"That's a good idea," I said making my way over to the panel at the back of the gym, which happened to be right next to Dimitri. He looked hopeful as I walked toward him, and I had to fight from rolling my eyes.

I smirked when he realized what I was doing, but I don't think he noticed. He readopted the stoic Guardian mask while observing the guys as they warmed up. I waited patiently as the scanner read my retina and allowed me access to the weapons' room. I walked slowly around the room examining each of the different short swords that were on the wall. Pavel and I had decided that it would be easier to conceal a short sword as opposed to a longsword.

I stopped in front of the Kindjal. It was a lightweight sword, double-edged, with a slight curve. Some would probably call it a dagger, but it was longer than our stakes. I grabbed three and moved back into the gym. Christopher was already on his back with Jasper and Kyle looming over him.

"What did you guys do?" I asked handing Kyle and Jasper their swords before reaching down and helping Christopher up.

"Pavel was having us work on our teamwork. We attacked Christopher as a team, and he wasn't good enough to fend us off." Jasper said with a shrug.

"Yeah, right." Christopher scoffed. "I let you guys win."

"Really? So, you wouldn't mind fighting for real this time?" Kyle asked with a smirk.

"Of course I wouldn't, but aren't we supposed to be helping Rosie?" Christopher said gesturing toward me.

"Yes, you are," Pavel interjected. "That being said, you three need to coordinate a plan of attack to take her down."

"You want us to fight Rose again? Don't you remember how that went the last time?" Jasper asked.

"I do. Vividly." Christopher said with a shudder, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"It was quite amusing," Pavel said. "However, you need to improve much more than Rose does, so you'll be fighting her. If you can somehow manage to take her down, I'll cut training short."

"We got this, guys," Kyle said assuredly, though I could sense his hesitation.

"Strap your weapons on your backs before we begin," I instructed and moved toward the middle of the sparring mats. "You can begin whenever you're ready."

While the guys fixed their back scabbards to their liking, I took the time to center myself. I could still feel Dimitri's eyes on me. They never left my form for more than a few seconds. The more he looked at me, the more the sense of longing filled the space. The way I easily interacted with the guys made him angry and jealous.

I tried to get my body used to the feeling of his eyes on me, but no matter how long the feeling stayed, my body kept reminding me of the fact that he was still watching. The black tendrils of Darkness had slowly been seeping out of me the longer I stood there. The smoky trails pooled at my feet, swirling and morphing, waiting for my command.

I could feel everyone's anxiety grow as the puddle of Darkness surrounded me.

"Ready?" I asked looking toward my partners.

"Yes, but you're not allowed to use that," Jasper said pointing to the Darkness at my feet. "It's cheating."

"Like I need to cheat to beat you." I scoffed rolling my eyes.

Without warning, all three of them lunged at me. I planted my left foot behind me and crouched low. I bent down and launched Jasper over my back as he came from directly in front of me. With a summersault forward, I successfully evaded the other two.

I felt the air shift to my right as Kyle aimed a kick at my kneeling form. I grabbed his ankle and went with the motion of his kick. Kyle pitched forward and landed hard on his back as I still had hold of his leg. I rolled backward to where I was hovering above his head and brought my fist down to foe-stake him.

My head whipped up as I heard Christopher release a battle cry and saw both he and Jasper racing toward me. I let a quick smirk show on my face as I lunged for Jasper's midsection. He wasn't expecting me to come for him, and he landed on his back with a groan.

He used his knee to push me off of him before I could get a decent shot at his heart, but he didn't get up quick enough. Christopher was rushing at me yet again, and I grabbed his arm as it swung at me and flung him into Jasper as he was getting to his feet.

Both fell back to the mats with similar groans. I had Christopher staked before his groan finished and Jasper's demise wasn't far behind.

"Alright, maybe fighting Rose isn't the best way for you three to get better," Pavel said after I stood up straight again, dusting the imaginary dust off my clothing. Kyle had righted himself but Jasper and Christopher were still groaning in front of me.

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance?" I heard Dimitri call from the corner, and the room tensed.

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea," Pavel said hesitantly looking at the Guardians that had taken on looks of hatred as the Russian spoke.

"Why not?" Dimitri asked a little hurt. I slowly backed my way behind Jasper and Christopher knowing that if I didn't they would step in front of me.

"Because we hate you," Jasper growled.

"You don't even know me," Dimitri growled back.

"But we do. We know what kind of person you are. You showed us that yesterday, and Rose has told us plenty." Kyle said firmly.

"Then you really should have no problems fighting me," Dimitri said pulling his mask back on. "In fact, that should be all the more reason for you _to_ fight me."

"I'll fight," Christopher said stepping forward with his hand raised. Dimitri looked at him with a scowl before stepping forward anyway. I moved to stand by Pavel, Dimitri's eyes never leaving me.

I stood slightly behind Pavel as Dimitri and Christopher started circling each other. As far as I knew, the two of them were evenly matched as far as strength went, but I didn't know much about Christopher's fighting style to determine who was more likely to win the match.

Christopher seemed to understand that he knew nothing about Dimitri's fighting style and was waiting for him to make the first move. Dimitri seemed to be thinking the same thing because he was waiting for Christopher to make the first move. Dimitri was much more patient in the waiting game.

I shifted slightly, but the slight movement drew Dimitri's attention back to me, and Christopher took the opportunity to take a swing. Dimitri blocked the move at the very last second, but his distraction resulted in a severely bruised forearm.

While Christopher retreated, Dimitri spared another glance my direction. I kept my face as emotionless as I could, and I think being unable to read me was starting to annoy him. I could see his jaw twitch slightly as he planted his back foot and pivoted it slightly.

Christopher also picked up on Dimitri's subtle shift in stance and braced himself for the kick he knew was coming, only, it didn't. Dimitri launched off his back foot and aimed a fist toward Christopher's chest. Christopher quickly changed tactics and dodged the punch as quickly as he could.

When Dimitri was retracting his fist, Christopher managed to grab his wrist. With Dimitri's fist in his right hand, Christopher used his left to grab onto Dimitri's shoulder and forced him to bend at the waist.

Christopher quickly kicked the back of Dimitri's right knee causing it to bend and Dimitri to fall. Christopher still had hold of Dimitri's wrist as he brought his fist down into Dimitri's back to simulate a stake thrust.

This was the first fight I'd seen Dimitri lose that wasn't to a Strigoi or me. Christopher released Dimitri's wrist, but Dimitri stayed in his kneeled position breathing heavily. He didn't look phased, in fact, he looked pleased with himself.

"Again?" He asked looking up at Christopher.

"Sure?" Christopher responded looking confused. I didn't know what Dimitri was playing at, but he was up to something.

Dimitri rose to his feet and crouched low. Again, they circled. Christopher looked a little more cautious this time, but still, Dimitri's patience outlasted Christopher's. Dimitri wasn't distracted this time as he fought with a smirk on his face.

He blocked each of Christopher's punches effortlessly, and I half expected him to start using just one arm and stifle a yawn with the other. With each blocked blow, Christopher looked more and more annoyed. Dimitri wasn't retaliating, he was just blocking each blow.

Either Dimitri got tired of defense or Christopher got tired of throwing punches because their positions switched. Dimitri wasn't trying to throw punches with a lot of power, though. It was almost like Dimitri was toying with him, and if the smirk on his face was any indication, he was.

"Now I see how you got so good," Pavel whispered almost in awe. It was true. If anyone other than Dimitri had taught me, I'd be good, but I wouldn't be as good as I am now. Dimitri had made me the Guardian I am.

"I'd like to think I could have been this good without him," I grumbled.

"You probably would have, but it would have taken you a little longer," Pavel said with a pacifying smile.

The fight was still raging. Neither one wanting to give up. Christopher wasn't going to stop trying to beat him, and Dimitri wasn't going to end the game. I think Dimitri was trying to prove a point, but to whom? To Christopher? To Jasper and Kyle? To Pavel?

To me?

I had no question as to Dimitri's fighting prowess. I knew what he was capable of. I'd seen him fight on numerous occasions. I'd been the one to fight him in several of those. I could tell when he was holding back or when he was giving it his all.

The few times we had fought, not sparred, I could tell he was giving it his all. Right now, Dimitri wasn't giving this fight his all. He was treating it like he did when he was first teaching me to spar. His movements were precise and quick when blocking a punch or a kick, but his retaliating blows held no power.

I just didn't know what he could gain from dragging this fight out.

Just as I thought that Dimitri stopped another one of Christopher's punches, this time, however, Dimitri landed a solid punch in the middle of Christopher's chest. Had Dimitri put his full power into the punch, Christopher would probably have a broken sternum. As it is, the punch sent Christopher flying, and he had barely landed on the mat when Dimitri was over him to simulate a stake thrust.

Christopher's body slumped onto the floor as he tried to gain control of his breathing. Dimitri righted himself, his breath even as he met my eyes. He held my gaze until the intensity became too much for me and I turned away. He, however, kept looking at me.

"Alright, Belikov," Pavel said after a few moments of everyone but me staring at Dimitri. "You will be training with us from now on. You're mainly going to be in charge of sparring with those three. I'll be helping Rose out with weapons, and we'll occasionally do another group attack just so she has practice."

Dimitri kept staring at me and nodded in response to Pavel. Christopher had gotten up off the floor and made his way over to me. He stood confidently beside Pavel and slightly in front of me to protect me from Dimitri's intense gaze.

Following Christopher's lead, Jasper and Kyle came to stand to either side of me.

"Don't think this changes anything, Belikov." Christopher started, but Jasper finished.

"Yeah, we still hate you."


	10. Chapter 10

The rest of morning training went smoothly, but soon we had to break because I was getting too hungry. I'd failed to obtain sustenance last night after Dimitri had shown up unwelcomed, and, because of his presence this morning, I'd only had a banana since then.

My stomach growled loudly which halted all movements of the present Guardians until Christopher started laughing uncontrollably. Dimitri looked pained as both Christopher and Jasper threw an arm around my shoulder and led me upstairs.

"What'll it be, Rosie?" Jasper asked after he'd placed me at the breakfast bar.

"You can cook?" I asked as Kyle came and sat down next to me.

"Not well," Kyle mumbled which received a glare from Jasper.

"I'm good at a select few things." Jasper corrected.

"Such as?" I prompted.

"Grilled cheese sandwiches, ramen, and stir-fry," Jasper responded proudly.

"I might love you if you make me a good stir-fry." I laughed.

"Your love is all I desire," Jasper said dreamily as he stroked the side of my face. I rolled my eyes but heard Dimitri growl loudly from behind me. Kyle and I turned around slowly in our seats to stare questioningly at him.

Christopher came up behind him and patted him patronizingly on the shoulder.

"Can I get in on that free love?" Christopher asked walking up beside me, ignoring Dimitri's fiery gaze, or maybe I was cherishing it.

"It's not free love, Christopher," I said leaning closer to him until we were a breath away, noses almost touching. "I expect something in return."

"Name it, it's yours," Christopher smirked letting his eyes flick to Dimitri.

"I. Want. You," I started and paused enough to let Dimitri's pain fuel my Darkness, "to make me food."

"You're a tease, Rosie," Christopher said with a sigh and a small chuckle, but he moved away to help Jasper with lunch.

"I thought you said you'll be training in the afternoons?" Baba's voice rang out as he entered the kitchen. I froze in my place and cursed under my breath. "What was that?"

"Nothing," I said quickly turning to face him with the most innocent look I could muster. "I was just really excited about training, Baba. I couldn't wait. Please don't be too mad."

"I'm not mad, Kiz," Baba said with a sigh, his voice adapting to a more gentle tone when he took me in. "But you are going to take the afternoon off. You're not training again today. It's up to you to decide if you want to train in the morning or in the afternoon, but you're not doing both."

"I understand," I said smiling at him. Truth is, I didn't want to train again today. Being in the gym with Dimitri was bringing back memories that I had wanted to stay buried. Feeling his eyes on me was a distraction, and if he had taught me anything it was that distractions get you killed. "I have some things I need to discuss with you after lunch, privately."

I didn't mean for my voice to come out sounding so menacing, but it did, and I couldn't stop it. Baba tried to mask the worry that flashed across his face, but I saw it. He nodded at me and left the kitchen, presumably to find Pavel who hadn't come up from the gym and to get away from me.

Jasper and Christopher had finished chopping the carrots and broccoli for the stir-fry.

"Chicken or pork?' Christopher asked looking in the fridge to see what proteins we had.

"I've got a thing for swine," I said off-handedly. Kyle looked over at me with an amused looked. Dimitri had moved further into the kitchen and placed himself on the stool on the other side of Kyle.

Jasper looked over at me with a raised eyebrow, but I just shrugged.

"You guys want to go for a swim after my meeting with Baba?" I asked when the only sound in the kitchen was cooking meat. I hated Dimitri being here for several reasons, one of them because he made everything so awkward. If he hadn't been here, Christopher and I would be throwing sarcastic remarks all around the kitchen with Jasper chiming in occasionally and Kyle observing us with an amused expression.

Everyone was too tense. I hated this feeling, and I hated Dimitri for making it this way.

"I could use a swim, especially if you're wearing that bikini again," Christopher said with a wink.

"I'm not promising anything. Besides, that was my most conservative swimsuit." I smirked. "I was actually hoping to get some tanning in, but I hate tan lines, so you guys may have to vacate the beach for a few hours."

"We don't have to leave the beach, Rosie. I promise we won't look." Jasper said raising his right hand.

"Speak for yourself," Christopher said eyeing me up and down. I heard Dimitri growl from the other side of Kyle, but it didn't stop the laugh that escaped me.

"Behave yourself, Guardian Fleming," I said lightly.

"What smells so good?" Sydney asked coming into the kitchen. She looked like she had just woken up, but that didn't seem to faze Jasper as his eyes held awe as he beheld her.

"Jasper and Christopher are cooking lunch," I replied. "Did you just get up?"

"Yeah, Pavel tried to wake me this morning for your training, but I didn't want to leave that bed."

"I know how that feels." I laughed. "We'll probably be training in the afternoon after today, though. You can sleep as late as you want for the next week. After that, hopefully, we'll be ready to get out and scout."

"Have you talked about setting up a routine with Pavel?" Kyle asked.

"Not yet. I explained a little of it to him this morning during our run but didn't go into too much detail." I responded. My mouth began to water as Jasper started serving up large bowls of the stir-fry.

Christopher took two bowls over to the table motioning for me to follow him. I quickly chased the food he was holding and plopped down in the seat next to him. Jasper joined us with a bowl for himself and one for Sydney. Sydney was sitting across from me and Jasper across from Christopher. Kyle joined us with a bowl of his own.

I decided to thank Christopher with a kiss just to see what Dimitri would do. I leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on Christopher's cheek. He returned my kiss with a knowing smirk. I know we didn't act like it all the time, but Christopher would never be anything more to me than a friend. However, he understood the desire to get under Dimitri's skin.

Typically, Dimitri would growl, as he had every other time Christopher and I interacted. This time, Dimitri calmly rose from his seat and headed upstairs, but not before I felt his pain. It was more pain than I'd felt from one person.

The pain was all-consuming and made my breath stop in my lungs. I felt tears well in my eyes at the intensity as I pulled it into me. I heard Dimitri pause on the stairs, but after a moment's hesitation, he continued up them.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Kyle asked immediately noticing my shift.

"Nothing," I answered quickly. "This smells really good, guys."

"It tastes good too," Sydney added swallowing her first bite. I felt more pain and suddenly lost my huge appetite. I forced the majority of the stir-fry into my mouth, and it settled uneasily in my stomach as I left to find Baba.

I hadn't seen him come back up from the basement so I started my search there. From the sound of it, Amca was in a heated discussion with Baba, but I couldn't understand any of it considering it was all in Turkish. I did hear my name thrown out there along with Dimitri's numerous times.

"Do you have any idea what she's going through now that he's here!?" Amca yelled suddenly switching to English.

"She fine! She's got three Guardians to protect her from him." Baba responded.

"God, Abe! You're a fool! It's killing her! Have you not seen the look in her eyes every time he's near her? He's not fairing much better, either, mind you."

"She would have said something if she's not happy," Baba said weakly.

"I tried telling you yesterday, but you said he was my guardian and there wasn't anything I could do to change it," I spoke up causing both men to spin quickly to look at me. "That's actually what I was going to talk to you about. I don't want him here, Baba. He's in pain just looking at me, and I know I will be the longer he stays."

"Pain?" Baba question.

"Yes, pain. I can feel it. There are times his anger is suffocating, but most of the time it's pain and sadness. It's every time he looks at me. It's every time I hug you or Amca, every time I speak or laugh. Baba, he's in pain, and I'm causing it."

"He caused his own pain when he broke your heart, Kiz" Baba spat, a new fire came into his eyes.

"Why is he here?" I asked.

"He's here because Yeva called in a favor. She said it would do him some good to be here without being able to have you."

"You realize that she sent him here so I'd eventually take him back, right?" I said "She practically told me in Russia that we were meant to be together. She wouldn't have sent him here if we weren't meant to be together."

"So you're going to take him back?" Amca asked incredulously.

"No," I said firmly, but the voice at the back of my head whispered _'Not yet.'_ "Despite his words yesterday, there's no way that I could possibly trust him not to hurt me again. I can't go through that a second time."

"So you're going to remain in pain until he decides to leave?" Baba asked sadly.

"I don't have much of a choice. You're the one that brought him here." I responded before looking toward Amca. "Do you think you could choose where we're hunting each night. Don't tell us until we're about to leave, though. We don't want to have a discernable pattern just in case there is one clever Strigoi."

"I think I can do that. Will you be hunting every night?" He asked in response.

"Not every night, but we don't want to wait more than a couple days in between hunts unless, on the off chance, one of us gets hurt," I explained.

"Yeah, I can do that. Do you have a list of locations?"

"Not yet, but I'll write it down for you," I said before turning to leave. "We'll be in the ocean if you need us."

"Have fun, Kiz," Baba said softly.

I walked back upstairs and noticed Christopher, Jasper, and Kyle had changed into their board shorts and were having a discussion in the living room, which stopped abruptly as I came up the stairs.

"Cause that's not suspicious at all," I said to them with a curious look. They all returned my look with a smile. "Definitely not suspicious," I grumbled and headed to my room to change.

I put on my deep red string bikini and pulled my white coverup on over it before making my way back downstairs. Like before, conversation stopped at my approach. I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I walked past them. While I was curious as to the topic of discussion, it wasn't too hard to deduce it was about me, probably including Dimitri, too.

I left my coverup under a rock near the start of the sand to retrieve later. I walked slowly down to the water's edge. The sand was warm under my toes which caused me to shiver in the blowing wind.

I felt his eyes on me almost as soon as I stepped out of the house. His pain grew again as the boys followed me. They didn't really come near me, opting to do their own thing off to the side. I didn't mind. For once, I wanted to be alone with my thoughts.

My thoughts, of course, were filled with Dimitri. Every good memory and, unfortunately, the all too often bad memories. I wrapped my arms around myself, not because I was cold, but because I needed comfort and the man I wanted it from wasn't beside me. He was standing in his room looking down at me.

I waded out into the water slowly, letting my body acclimate to the temperature difference. I felt his eyes leave me, and I turned around to look into his window. He was gone. I sighed in annoyance at my sadness. I missed the feeling of his gaze. He watched me like I was the only person in the world, like I made his life have meaning.

There was movement in Baba's office, and I watched Dimitri appear within and sit with Abe. It was definitely a serious talk as they were sitting around his desk and not around his fireplace. Even at this distance, I could see his beautiful face perfectly.

The way his lips moved when he spoke was fascinating. His eyes looked haunted, but the longer the conversation went on, the more life invaded them. I didn't know what their conversation was about, but I'm glad they were having it. I liked this Dimitri better, the one that looked happy.

He deserved to be happy. Too much has happened to him for him not to deserve happiness. I leaned back in the water letting myself float. I closed my eyes and let my body relax in the sun.

I could hear the guys horsing around on the beach, but I just wanted to enjoy the cool water and the warm rays. A few minutes later I felt Dimitri's eyes return to me and felt a smile spread across my face.

I missed him. My body missed him, but my heart was still trying to recover from the pain he'd caused me.

I cleared my mind and thought of Lissa. She'd been spending the past day trying to swindle information out of Eddie, even going as far as to contemplate using compulsion to get the information out of him. Eddie had kept his word and not told anyone he'd had contact with me, but Adrian could tell that he was lying when he asked earlier.

Adrian had sunken to a new low in his alcohol abuse, and Lissa was starting to get worried. There wasn't anyone that Adrian would listen to anymore. I used to have a little control, but I never thought I was the right person for Adrian. The right person would have been able to make him stop without a second thought.

He stopped smoking for me, but he never stopped drinking. His Darkness wasn't being handled by me. The right person would have made the Darkness dissipate. Lissa's Darkness is becoming almost nonexistent now that she and Christian had fixed things.

That's where Lissa was now, with Christian. I was happy for her, but my heart began to ache again as I saw the love shine in Christian's eyes as he looked at Lissa. I left quickly, knowing that my reality wasn't much different in way of heartache.

Sydney had joined the guys on the beach but wasn't brave enough to brace the cool water. She and Jasper were lying beside each other talking while Christopher was attempting to build a sandcastle. Kyle observed, as always, glancing in my direction occasionally.

I felt Dimitri's eyes leave me again, and I found myself looking up to his room again to see what could have pulled his attention. He'd pulled his shirt off as he walked toward his closet. He disappeared for a few seconds before coming back out, still shirtless but with board shorts on.

I tried to keep myself from feeling excitement at the prospect of Dimitri joining us on the beach. I relaxed back into the water, trying to calm myself down. I felt when he exited the house as his eyes immediately found me.

I allowed myself to sneak a glance at him as he watched me. He made his way over to the part of the beach where the others weren't and sat down. He just sat there for a moment, watching me, before he turned his face toward the sun and closed his eyes. I watched in awe as a smile spread across his face.

That was the way he stayed. He just sat there, face turned to the sun in contentment. I wondered what it felt like, to find enjoyment out of such a simple thing. He'd spent months of his life without access to the sun, but now that he was restored, he seemed to appreciate it differently.

Dimitri's eyes shot open as Kyle sat down next to him. He gave Kyle a questioning look, but Kyle just looked out to where I was floating. Dimitri turned his eyes to watch me, too, waiting for Kyle to speak.

When Kyle did speak, Dimitri's face adopted a frown. I didn't like it being there and wondered what Kyle said to make the smile disappear. Dimitri didn't say anything as Kyle kept talking, just nodding occasionally.

Toward the end of the conversation, Dimitri's smile returned. He looked over at Kyle and nodded fervently. Kyle seemed to accept his answer and returned his smile. He patted Dimitri on the shoulder as he stood and left. Dimitri's eyes quickly found mine again as I was openly staring at him.

His smile grew as he looked at me, and I gave him a small one in return. He motioned me to come to him, and I did so. I sat in the sand next to him and looked out over the ocean. I could still feel him watching me, but he didn't say anything.

"How are you feeling?" I asked breaking the silence.

"I've been better." Came his response.

I only nodded as we fell back into the slightly awkward silence.

"Rose. I want to ask you something." Dimitri began.

"What do you want to ask me?" I inquired finally looking over at him only to have him look down at the sand between his fingers.

"I want to start over."

"That's not a question, Dimitri," I said. "If you want to start over, why are you here? Being back here with me isn't starting over."

"That's not what I meant." Dimitri sighed. "I want us to start over. You had said yesterday that the man you fell in love with died in the caves in Montana. I told you yesterday that wasn't true, except that it is. I'm not the same man I was back in the academy. I'm definitely not the monster I was during my time as a Strigoi."

"What are you getting at?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'm not the same person I was when we fell in love. You're not the same person you were when we fell in love. I'm asking if we can start over."

"Start over?" I repeated.

"Yes. I've done some stupid things since being restored, Rose. The things I did to you as a Strigoi were horrible, but my actions as a man were worse, far worse. I want to fall in love with you again. I want you to give us a chance, to give me a chance." Dimitri pleaded.

"So, we start over? A new slate?" I asked looking up at him.

"Yes. That's all I want. If this doesn't work out, I'll leave, and you won't ever have to see me ever again." Dimitri said firmly, though I could see the pain in his eyes at the thought of leaving me.

I thought for a few more minutes. Could I really do this? Could I put myself at potential risk? Could I really give him another chance? I wanted this man, there was no denying that, but could I handle him leaving again?

However, we could fall in love again. From what he's told me, he never fell out of love with me. I've never stopped loving him, I couldn't even if I did try, but could I risk this?

Dimitri was still looking at me with hope written all over his face.

"I think I can give you a chance but only as a friend," I said softly and smiled as his face lit up before falling a little, but he seemed to accept it. He stuck out a hand, and I stared at it hesitantly, not really sure what he was doing, before I grasped it. He shook my hand firmly but gently.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." He said, the smile still on his face. "I'm Dimitri Belikov. I'll be your guardian."

"Hi, Dimitri," I said with a small smile of my own. "I'm Rose Hathaway, and I don't need a guardian."

"From what I understand, you don't have much of a choice." He said lightly.

"I know, but don't think I'm going to be happy about this," I said rolling my eyes.

He continued to smile at me but didn't say anything else. We sat in the comfortable silence, taking in the sun until Amca called us in for dinner. He stood first and offered me his hand. I placed mine lightly in his, and he pulled me up. He gestured me toward the house and followed me inside.

He was happy.

I guess I could live with this. I just wanted him happy, and if this made him happy, I could risk the heartache.


	11. Chapter 11

**DPOV**

There wasn't any worse feeling than this. I hated being able to see her but not being able to be with her.

 _You did this to yourself._

My mind just loved reminding me of the biggest mistake of my life. The instant those four words were out of my mouth, I wanted to take them back. I wanted to take it all back: every harsh word, every cruel glance, all the time I'd spent as a Strigoi. I wanted it all back, and I just wanted Roza. All I wanted was Roza.

By the time I convinced my Guardians to let me make things right with Roza, she was already gone. I watched with tears in my eyes as the plane took off. I hadn't cried in so long, I forgot the tickling sensation that came with tears running down your face. The feeling made you want to wipe them away, but if the tears stayed it would serve as a reminder of the sadness I caused myself.

I missed her. I'd only been to Court once with Roza, but everywhere I went was a constant reminder of her. Every time I closed my eyes, I would see the light drain from hers as I uttered those cursed words. I had caused her pain, yet, she didn't cry. She was strong, so much stronger than I was, but I'd broken her so much that she couldn't even cry.

I left Court thinking I was going to go back home, see my family, let them know I was alive. Babushka called me as I boarded the plane at Court and told me that Baia was not my destination, New York was. I'd received a call from Abe Mazur almost immediately after Babushka hung up on me. My first question to him was if Roza was okay.

He'd been very hostile toward me, so it only confused me when he offered me a job protecting Roza. I'd accepted immediately despite my confusion. I might not be the one for her, though I knew she was the one for me, I would still protect her with my life.

Abe's personal Guardian, Pavel, was supposed to be conducting the interview, but he had refused to even speak to me. Abe gave me Roza's location in the city and told me to keep an eye on her throughout the day.

She was still as gorgeous as ever. I don't think there's anything that could make her less gorgeous. I felt the anger and jealousy rise in me as the Guardian with dirty blond hair stuck close to her. All of the Guardians with her seemed close to her, and I hated it. I hated feeling jealous, especially when I had no right to. She wasn't mine. I'd pushed her away. I'd convinced her that I'd given her up.

She looked happy, from far away, but the few times I got close to her I couldn't see the light that had once lived in her eyes.

 _You did that to her. You killed her spirit._

I kept as much distance between us as I could so I didn't risk seeing her lifeless eyes again. I could barely live with the knowledge that I had made it so.

I could tell as the day progressed that she knew I was there, well, maybe not _me_ , but she knew someone was watching. Multiple times I'd duck out of the way just before her eyes would pass the spot I would have been moments before.

I watched her climb onto her motorcycle, her long legs draping over either side in such an innocent yet provocative way. I recalled momentarily what those legs felt like, and the burning sensation in my chest reminded me that I probably would never feel them again.

If, by some miracle, I could find my way back into her life, she'd never let me love her again. I didn't deserve her love anyway, but it hurt to see her with someone else. Though I doubt she'd moved on so quickly, I couldn't help but see her wrapped in the Guardian's embrace. I could see an attachment growing between the dirty blond and her, but I didn't know how either of them felt toward each other.

I'd rushed back to the house, hoping to beat them there, but pulled up as the last Guardians were getting bags out of the car. Abe spotted me and motioned me to follow him inside with a stony look on his face. I could see his anger as he looked at me, and I could physically feel Pavel's displeasure toward me.

"How 'bout you come downstairs and meet the rest of the Guardians," Abe suggested as Pavel continued to glare at me. I couldn't blame him. I'd broken her. She was doing her best to hide it, but she was broken. These two men hadn't known her for very long, but they knew that something was wrong with her.

Even if it was Babushka who'd sent me here, I couldn't help but feel that I didn't belong here. There wasn't anything for me here, at least, anything I could have. I wanted her, but I didn't deserve her. She needs someone that won't hurt her like I did. Someone who can be strong for her. Someone she can depend on, and as much as I wanted that to be me, it just wasn't.

I followed the two men downstairs into their gym. It was probably the largest gym I'd seen that wasn't at an academy. There were a dozen Guardians in here, including those that had attended the shopping expeditions with Roza.

"Guardians." Abe's voice rang out immediately halting all conversation. They all turned toward us, and I could see recognition in a few of their eyes. Including the brown haired one that had gone with Roza. He murmured to his companions beside him, and their faces all adopted a murderous look.

"You're Guardian Belikov." The one with dirty blond hair said taking a step forward. He was the closest to Roza, but they all seemed to be rather protective of her. It wasn't a question, though I felt like it deserved an answer.

"I am." I agree reluctantly. I knew what was most likely to come next, but I couldn't say that I didn't deserve it.

"You're the one that broke Rose?" The brown haired one asked calmly though his eyes held a storm. I couldn't help the flinch that accompanied his words, and I couldn't find the words of agreeance so I stayed silent and let that be my answer.

All three of them rushed me at once. They worked well together. Their moves were in sync and well timed. There was no way that a single person could stand an attack from all three of them, no matter how good they were.

I didn't really put up a lot of fight. I welcomed the physical pain that would complement my emotional turmoil. Their punches hurt less than the knowledge that I'd broken the love of my life. I was barely registering their hateful shouts when I heard her voice. It was like I was hearing for the first time. Even amongst the shouts and insults, her voice was sweet and clear.

Despite the pain my body was enduring, my mind relaxed but my body tensed.

"What's going on?" She asked, her tone slightly annoyed as if men fighting bothered her. The three Guardians that had been attacking me freed themselves of the other Guardians that were doing a poor attempt at holding them back and went to stand defensively in front of Roza.

Any chance I had at seeing her diminished as the wall of bodies blocked my view, but I knew what was waiting for me. Her deep brown hair was longer than I remembered it being despite seeing her a few days earlier. Perhaps it wasn't longer but less lively. It hung limply around her shoulders yet somehow still looked fantastic, but I knew it used to hold a life all on its own, one that had died with the light that once lived in her eyes.

I knew her curves would be just as powerful as ever, but I knew from the glances I'd gotten earlier today that the bags that lived under her dull eyes were far more pronounced than they should be. She was still beautiful, but she was merely a shell of the beauty she used to be before I broke her.

"Kiz, let me explain." I heard Abe say as I kept my eyes transfixed on the floor. "I need you to keep a cool head about this."

"That's not a good way to get me to keep a cool head about anything, Baba." She responded, waiting for him to explain, but he didn't continue. "Amca, are you going to tell me?"

"I didn't want this, Yeğen," Pavel said apologetically. He voice was tense but loving. I could hear his love for her and his hatred for me all in one sentence.

"Didn't want what?" She asked curiously. I'd started to stand, unsure that I could remain on my feet if I laid my eyes on her. Even watching her from far away I could tell she was beautiful. Her beauty would always astound me, but I know she's not mine anymore.

 _You did that to yourself._

My heart froze, as did the rest of my body when I laid eyes on her. She seemed to be in a similar state as her eyes widened in shock, the pain was evident as she took me in. I hated it being there, and I hated myself even more for being the one to put it there.

"Roza." I breathed unconsciously. I saw the Guardians around her tense, and I heard Pavel faintly growl from his position by Abe.

"Kiz, let me explain," Abe said gently holding his hands up in a defensive gesture even though she wasn't looking at him.

"No." I heard her whisper. She was going to reject me, not that I didn't deserve it, but when Babushka sent me here, I'd hoped that she would take me back.

"Kiz…" Abe tried again, but she started shaking her head, making her long wavy hair fly around her face. God, she's beautiful.

"No." she whispered again, more forcefully this time. I could see the tears in her eyes and the dirty blond pushed her behind him, and she clung to the brown haired one for comfort as I took a step forward.

"Roza, please…" I tried, a flash of anger and jealousy rising in me.

"No." She said louder causing me to flinch. "No."

I took another step toward her and silently cursed myself as I watched the pain flash in her eyes as she flinched.

The room grew more tense as anger sparked in Roza's eyes. The strange sensation I had felt in Lissa's room returned, and my eyes widened when I recalled what it meant.

"Roza, stop! You have to stop!" I cried out as I felt the entire room relax, but it wasn't natural.

"You." She growled. "You don't get to tell me what to do."

"Roza, this isn't you," I said, my fear increasing as I remembered the last time Darkness had taken hold of her.

"That's where you're wrong, Dimitri. This is me. I've embraced who I am, what I can become. If it wasn't for you, I never would have gotten this far, so I really should be thanking you."

I took another step forward as the rest of the room scrambled to get as far from Roza as possible. I could see that she was calm, nothing like the crazed girl I'd dragged through the woods months ago.

Black smoky tendrils trailed down her tanned arms, looking like tattoos as they danced over her skin. I moved closer to her. I was determined to bring her back to me, the real her. She reached a tendril out and stroked the side of my face. I tensed as I waited for the chill of Darkness, only it never came. It was warm, soft, inviting.

"It's not what you thought it was, Dimitri." She said softly. She seemed calm and focused. Her eyes were alert. The fire I'd missed flashed for a second as she watched the Darkness. "It never was. I control it, I feed it. It obeys me because I'm not scared of it anymore."

"But it can still harm, Roza," I said remembering her battles with the Darkness, the damage it caused to Jesse's face, not that he didn't deserve it.

"It can't harm me, not anymore." She said pulling the tendril back into her. "But it can hurt others. It's silent. It takes all your negative emotions, leaving you feeling at peace, and then it strikes."

"You need to stop," I whispered again, hoping she'd listen to me this time.

"No." She said forcefully before changing the subject. "Why are you here, Dimitri?"

"I'm here for a job," I stated using it as my excuse to be near her.

"Not as a Guardian, not here." She responded looking toward Abe. "Baba, I don't approve of having this man in the house. You said the final decision was up to me, and I don't approve."

"Roza?" I began, my voice causing her to flinch.

"Dimitri, I can't have you here. I refuse. You broke me, and I hate to admit it, but I still love you despite all you've done. Your time as a Strigoi was not your fault, that wasn't you, but the man that came back from that warehouse was not the man I fell in love with. I know that now. The man I fell in love with died in a cave in Montana, and there's nothing I can do to get him back."

"No, Roza. That's not true." I said fighting the tears. As my hand reached for her, the Darkness swatted it away, but I wasn't going to let it stop me. "I couldn't handle your love when I was restored. When you left, I felt my heart leave with you. I watched that plane leave begging for it to turn around, for you to run into my arms. I regretted the words as soon as I said them, but I couldn't take them back. I tried to find you, to apologize for everything, but you were already leaving, and I thought I'd lost my only chance at happiness."

"You're not completely wrong. You lost your only chance at happiness with me." She said looking up at me. I felt the pain her words caused immediately. Her eyes flashed with an emotion that was gone before I could even place it. "Your happiness isn't here. Your happiness is with your family, with someone that will love you, someone that you will love. I'm not that person, not anymore."

"I lied to you that day, Roza," I said quietly. "My love for you could never fade. My love for you is stronger than anything I've ever felt. I was scared, scared to let you get hurt again. I was scared to hurt you, but I did, one last ounce of pain and you were free. I did what I thought would free you from me. I did what I had to do to set you free."

"You accomplished your task." She said, but I continued hoping that she'd believe me.

"I'm weak and selfish. I'm weak because I couldn't accept that you were there for me, that you'd forgiven me for what I'd done in Russia, what I did in Las Vegas, in Pennsylvania, in that warehouse. I was weak when I pushed you away, but I'm even weaker now because I don't have you to keep me strong. I'm selfish because I thought I knew what was best for you, what was going to help you, but it was to help me. I'm selfish because I want you back, I need you back." I said, pushing back the force of the Darkness. I could feel it buckle under my pressure and pushed harder.

I felt her try to fight me, but I needed _my_ Roza back, and I wasn't going to stop until I reached her.

"I refuse to leave until I have you back. It might not be right now, it might not be tomorrow or even this week. Hell, it might not be this month, this year, but I'm not pushing you away anymore. I'm going to stay by your side whether you like it or not. I'm not a Guardian stationed at this house, so you don't get the final say in anything. I'm _your_ Guardian, sworn to protect you and you alone."

" _My_ Guardian?" She asked breathlessly.

"I hired him to keep you safe. It's not that I don't trust these boys, but I'm not taking any chances. I will have the best Guardian protecting my daughter if she's going to be out hunting Strigoi." Abe said protectively.

"You mean he'll be going hunting with us?" The dirty blond questioned loudly.

"Wherever Rose goes, Dimitri goes," Abe responded. I continued to stare at Roza before recognition shone in her eyes.

"You were following us today." She stated.

"Wherever you go, I go, too," I responded before she took a step away from me. It took all my power not to follow her. My arms ached to be wrapped around her, and my fingers itched to tuck a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"Kyle, Christopher, Jasper, will you go for a run with me?" She asked still backing away from me. My body tensed as the Guardians moved toward her.

"Sure thing, Rosie." The dirty blond said heading to the door, the other two following his lead. Before I could reason with her more, she bolted from the gym.

I raced after them ignoring the calls from Abe and Pavel. As I reached the back door, the Guardians were there trying to block my path. I pushed past them and ignored their yelling, forcing myself to run faster to catch up with Roza.

"Roza!" I called. She was running faster than I'd ever seen a Dhampir run, but I was closing the distance, but I just wasn't fast enough. I pulled my gun from its holster and aimed for her feet, hoping that it would slow her down, and pulled the trigger a few times.

"Are you shooting at me?" She yelled, slowing down slightly to look at me over her shoulder before she continued her fast pace.

"If you would stop, I wouldn't have to," I called firing a couple more shots.

She stopped abruptly, sending a tendril of Darkness toward the gun in my hand, knocking it away. I forgot about the gun and continued to charge my Roza. I saw her plant herself firmly in the shifting sand and watched the Darkness seep out of her.

I launched myself through the wall of Darkness she'd thrown in front of me and tackled her to the ground. I didn't know why I could break through the Darkness, perhaps it's because I've done it before.

"Stop fighting me," I whispered in her ear as she continued to struggle underneath me.

"Get off of me!" She screamed and fought harder. I could feel her trying to use the Darkness again, but it wouldn't come near me.

"Stop fighting," I whispered yet again. My heart rate increased at the feeling of her soft skin underneath my lips.

She suddenly stopped struggling though I kept my position in case she wasn't completely done yet.

"Stop fighting me," I whispered once again before placing a kiss on her cheek. I wanted her to stop fighting me. I wanted to stop fighting her. I wanted her. "Roza, stop fighting."

"My name is Rose, Guardian Belikov. I suggest you either call me that or Guardian Hathaway." Her icy tone caused me to flinch and my heart to constrict again. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, get off of me."

I pulled back to look down at her, but she kept her face expressionless. It seems that she'd mastered her Guardian mask. Hers was better than mine, and she succeeded in keeping me out of her head. I couldn't read her anymore. She was no longer my Roza. She was just Rose.

I saw the Guardians we'd left in the dust rushing toward us as I rolled off Rose and let her stand. She brushed off the sand from herself and quickly made her way over to them, not even sparing me a glance. I stood and stared after her as Pavel and the Guardian with the sandy blond hair ran up to me.

"What'd you do?" Pavel barked.

"I got her to stop fighting," I responded blandly. My eyes were glued to Rose, and I needed to know she was okay. I'd pushed her too far after pushing her away, but I needed her back.

I pushed past the two men and raced toward the house. I could see her stop and talk to the Alchemist in the doorway before rushing off upstairs

"Where is she?" I asked bursting into the house. I knew the direction she went, but I hadn't been shown much of the house.

"She's avoiding you, and if I were you, I'd let her." The dirty blond told me with a sneer on his face.

"You don't know anything. I'm trying to fix the mess I made." I said trying my best to keep my anger and jealousy out of my voice. They'd never understand my need to protect her, to keep her safe, to make her happy even if it wasn't with me.

"I know exactly what you did, so please do us all a favor and just be her Guardian. Worry about guarding her body, you've already caused so much pain to her heart." The sandy blond said.

I pushed past them without a word and followed my instincts to where I thought Rose was. I hear a door closing above me and quickened my pace toward the sound.

I hear a soft thump from one of the doors and paused in front of it. I wanted so badly to knock, to see her face, to hear her voice even if she was screaming at me.

I sat down outside her door with my back against it. I let my head fall into my hands and tried my hardest to keep the tears at bay, but I couldn't. I'd lost the best thing that had ever happened to me. I'd lost it three days ago, but I thought I might have a chance when Abe gave me this job, but I'd pushed her too much.

My Roza was gone. I'd broken her. The only thing that remained was this Darkness. It was a different kind of Darkness than what it used to be, and it seemed to want nothing to do with me. Perhaps it's the Darkness that is keeping Roza away. No, Rose, it's just Rose now.

I tried to hold on to that thought, that it's the Darkness, not Rose, that didn't want me, but the tears kept falling as I sat outside her door, wishing it would open so I could see her, but it never did.


	12. Chapter 12

She was amazing. I couldn't take my eyes off her even if I wanted to. I'd been on the receiving end of those three's attack and hadn't been able to fend them off, but she made them look like first-year novices going up against a seasoned Guardian.

They were down within three minutes of their first attack. Rose was moving so fast that I could barely keep up with her, and I wasn't even in the fight.

"Alright, maybe fighting Rose isn't the best way for you three to get better," Pavel said as Rose stood up.

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance?" I called from my spot before I could process what my mouth was doing.

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea," Pavel said hesitantly looking at the Guardians' faces.

"Why not?" I asked a little hurt that they wouldn't use my skills and knowledge to potentially better themselves.

"Because we hate you." The sandy blond, Jasper, growled.

"You don't even know me," I growled back. They knew what Rose told them. I'm sure she told them the truth, but they didn't know how much I loved her, still do. I wanted to prove myself to them, prove to them that I could protect not just her body but her heart, also.

"But we do. We know what kind of person you are. You showed us that yesterday and Rose has told us plenty." The brown haired, Kyle, said firmly.

"Then you really should have no problems fighting me," I said pulling my mask back on. "In fact, that should be all the more reason for you _to_ fight me."

"I'll fight." The dirty blond, Christopher, said stepping forward with his hand raised. I couldn't help the scowl I gave him but stepped forward nonetheless. I watched Rose as she moved to stand slightly behind Pavel.

I was confident in my ability to take this Guardian down. I knew nothing about his fighting style, but I could fend the three of them off, with great difficulty and not for long, so I was pretty sure that I could beat one of them by himself.

I'm sure that Christopher thought that I wasn't as skilled as him, though, I'd trained Rose. She was a product of her own dedication and my knowledge. She would have been a force to be reckoned with on her own but mixed with my teachings, she was unstoppable. Not to toot my own horn or anything.

I waited for Christopher to make the first move. Right before he attacked, I saw Rose move, and my eyes were instantly drawn to her. I barely had enough time to block the punch to my face as I tried to focus back on the fight. Rose's face was still blank, and I longed to be able to read her again.

I focused back into the fight, wanting to prove to her that I'd fight for her. I'd be more than capable of protecting her. I decided I needed to toy with the man in front of me first. If he thought he could protect my Roza better than I could, he's sadly mistaken.

I planted my back foot. Most of the time this would signal a kick of some sort, but I needed to know how fast Christopher could think on his feet. Using my back foot as a launching point, I lunged forward, a fist aimed at his sternum.

He thought fast and did exactly what I thought he would. I was down on my knee and staked before I knew it. Perfect.

"Again?" I asked looking up at him trying to keep the smug look off my face. I'm not sure how successful I was.

"Sure?" He said hesitantly. I saw Roza cock her head slightly to the side from the corner of my eye but focused on the Guardian in front of me.

Much like the last time, I waited for him to make the first more. This time I put all of myself into this fight. Punch after punch was blocked, but I never retaliated. I could see that he was slowing down and growing more annoyed. Sweat was starting to collect on his brow as I continued to block his attempts.

I could feel my arms begin to ache with the continuous blocking, but I felt good as I kept it up. I effortlessly switched to the offensive, and Christopher gladly took the opportunity to back up and get a moment of relief before I was back on him. I pulled my punches, letting him believe that was most of what I was capable of.

I lulled him into a false sense of security by weakening my punches even further. I saw relief flash in his eyes as he believed that the fight was winding down, and it was. This had been going on for about ten minutes, and I thought it time to end it.

I quickly placed a powerful punch to Christopher's sternum, sending him flying to the mats. Before he could suck in the breath that he'd lost, I was over him, my fist coming down over his heart.

I stood tall as Christopher relaxed into the floor breathing heavily. I fixed my gaze back on Roza, but her eyes met mine this time. I tried my hardest to convey every emotion I could just by looking at her. She was beautiful. She was strong. She was perfect.

She was mine.

I wouldn't stop until I had her. She looked away from me and down at the body of the Guardian who was still recovering from my victory. I continued to look at Roza, hoping that she'd look back at me.

"Alright, Belikov," Pavel said finally. "You will be training with us from now on. You're mainly going to be in charge of sparring with those three. I'll be helping Rose out with weapons, and we'll occasionally do another group attack just so she has practice."

I only nodded in response, keeping my eyes on Roza as the three Guardians came to stand around her protectively.

"Don't think this changes anything, Belikov," Christopher said blocking my view of Roza.

"Yeah, we still hate you." Jasper finished. I accepted that they all hated me. However, I would not accept that Roza hated me. I'd felt many things, many emotions, from Roza, but hatred was not one of them.

I was happy that I got to work with those three because I could train them to better protect Roza. I had every intention of protecting her myself, but if I should fall again, I needed them to take care of her.

I spent the rest of the training session getting to know Jasper's, Kyle's, and Christopher's fighting style. I tried hard not to stare at Rose. She was distracting. I know I'd told her that distractions get you killed, but I'd die happy knowing that she was the distraction.

Rose spent the remaining time staying close to Pavel. They didn't start on weapons work, though she did pull out her swords on more than one occasion. I don't know why, but it was erotic to see how Rose handled her sword. Her grip was firm and her movements precise.

There were numerous times when Christopher or Jasper would either snap in front of my face or slap me to draw my attention away from Roza. Kyle was watching me with a calculating expression. I didn't know what to make of it, but I had a feeling that if I wanted to get back into Roza's life I needed to talk to Kyle.

Christopher and Jasper were going to be a little harder to convince, but I was determined to have her back. I probably needed to talk to Abe, also. I might have been assigned to Roza, but I was working for Abe. He had the ability to get rid of me, in more ways than one. He could also make Roza disappear, and I doubt that I would ever be able to find her if he did.

I knew that Abe only brought me here because of my grandmother, but I wanted to prove to him that I love his daughter. I wanted to prove it to everyone.

Suddenly a loud growl erupted amongst the grunts and punches. All heads swiveled toward Roza. I knew it was only a matter of time before her appetite halted our progress. I loved hearing her stomach growl, and I wasn't the only one.

Christopher and Jasper laughed uncontrollably, and even Pavel and Kyle had smiles on their faces. Roza turned an adorable shade of pink and avoided making eye contact with anyone. My heart clenched as Jasper and Christopher placed an arm around her shoulder and led her upstairs.

Pavel ignored me as he started his own workout, but Kyle stepped closer to me.

"You and I will have a discussion later." He said and continued up the stairs.

I felt a momentary panic before I remembered that I needed to talk to him anyway. After a moment's hesitation, I followed them upstairs.

"Your love is all I desire." I heard Jasper say as I entered the kitchen. I froze in place as he reached out and gently touched Roza's face. A possessive growl escaped my chest when neither of them pulled away. Kyle and Roza turned around slowly in their seats to stare at me, but I was more focused on Jasper.

Christopher came up behind me and patted me on the shoulder without saying a word as he headed toward Roza.

"Can I get in on that free love?" Christopher asked, and I turned my glare away from Jasper and toward him.

"It's not free love, Christopher," Roza said leaning closer to him, putting their faces closer than I would have ever liked them to be. "I expect something in return."

"Name it, it's yours," Christopher smirked.

"I. Want. You," Roza stated. My heart shattered momentarily before she continued, "to make me food."

"You're a tease, Rosie," Christopher said with a sigh, but he moved away to help Jasper with lunch. I didn't know what they were making but it was a lot of vegetables, something I didn't know Roza would eat.

"I thought you said you'll be training in the afternoons?" Abe's voice rang out as he entered the kitchen. I heard Roza curse in Russian, but it was quiet enough that Abe didn't hear it clearly. "What was that?"

"Nothing." She said quickly turning to face him with an angelic look. Had it been any other man, that look would have them on their knees. "I was just really excited about training, Baba. I couldn't wait. Please don't be too mad."

"I'm not mad, Kiz." Abe sighed. "But you are going to take the afternoon off. You're not training again today. It's up to you to decide if you want to train in the morning or in the afternoon, but you're not doing both."

"I understand." She said smiling at him before her look turned serious. "I have some things I need to discuss with you after lunch, privately."

Her voice sounded menacing. I knew I didn't want to be Abe right now. I'd never been on the full receiving end of Roza's fury, but I'd seen enough of it to know I never want to be.

I couldn't sit right next to Roza, but I could sit on the other side of Kyle and that was close enough.

"Chicken or pork?' Christopher asked looking in the fridge.

"I've got a thing for swine," Roza replied with a shrug. I winced slightly at the dig.

Jasper raised an eyebrow at the comment while Christopher looked amused.

"You guys want to go for a swim after my meeting with Baba?" Roza asked when the only sound in the kitchen was cooking meat. The kitchen was tense, and I had a feeling that I was the cause. Roza and I used to have such a carefree relationship, but now everything's just tense.

"I could use a swim, especially if you're wearing that bikini again," Christopher said with a wink. I felt another growl rumbling in my chest and fought hard to keep it down. Roza wasn't mine, yet.

"I'm not promising anything. Besides, that was my most conservative swimsuit." She said with a smirk. "I was actually hoping to get some tanning in, but I hate tan lines, so you guys may have to vacate the beach for a few hours."

"We don't have to leave the beach, Rosie. I promise we won't look." Jasper said raising his right hand.

"Speak for yourself," Christopher responded with a look that made the growls emerge so quickly I couldn't stop them.

"Behave yourself, Guardian Fleming," Roza responded making me feel a little better. Usually, she'd flirt back, but I don't know what was different about this time.

"What smells so good?" The Alchemist, Sydney, I think, said, her voice still containing remnants of sleep.

"Jasper and Christopher are cooking lunch," Roza replied. "Did you just get up?"

"Yeah, Pavel tried to wake me this morning for your training, but I didn't want to leave that bed."

"I know how that feels." Roza laughed, and my heart swelled at the sound. "We'll probably be training in the afternoon after today, though. You can sleep as late as you want for the next week. After that, hopefully, we'll be ready to get out and scout."

"Have you talked about setting up a routine with Pavel?" Kyle asked from beside me. I didn't know what routine they were talking about, but I'd figure it out soon enough.

"Not yet. I explained a little of it to him this morning during our run but didn't go into too much detail." Came Roza's response, though she seemed a little distracted as the stir-fry was being served.

Christopher took two bowls, one for Roza and one for himself, and motioned for Roza to follow him into the dining room. Roza quickly jumped down from her spot at the breakfast bar and followed the food. I felt a smile tug at my lips at her love of food. Jasper did a similar thing with his and Sydney's bowls while Kyle got his own. I was just about to join them when I saw something that made my blood freeze.

Roza's lips were on Christopher's cheek. It was friendly, but I couldn't stop the thoughts that ran through my mind. What if she was moving on? What if she really didn't want me anymore?

She said yesterday that she still loved me, against her better judgment but still. I know I love her with my entire being, but what if she didn't anymore? I told her love fades, and it does when it's not true love, but I thought what we had was real.

My heart squeezed in a painful way, and the air that should have filled my lungs escaped me. My chest was burning as my heart shattered at the image of Roza moving on. She could be better with someone that wouldn't hurt her, but the thought of her not being with me was more painful than the thought of her with anyone else.

I left the room quickly, trying to rid the pictures from my mind. I was halfway up the first flight of stairs when I felt my pain abate. I knew it was Roza. Even if I hurt her, she'd never want me to be in pain. I paused momentarily to think of what it could mean, but I decided it's just the kind of person Roza is. She didn't do it to help me, but because it's who she is.

I continued upstairs to my room, willing the pain that I felt to leave. Roza might have taken some of it, but it was still there. It wasn't going anywhere.

I stared out across the ocean, watching the light as it danced across the surface. I don't know how long I stood in front of the windows, but I only stopped staring across the ocean when Roza came out.

She paused momentarily to take off her swimsuit coverup. My breath caught in the back of my throat, and my mouth went dry. She was stunning, magnificent, perfect. I knew she was but seeing it is a completely different experience.

Jealousy ran cold through my veins as the Guardians came out to join Roza, though they didn't enter the water with her. I decided I needed to do something. I needed to convince Roza that I was dedicated to her and her alone. She was what I needed in life, and I was determined to do everything I could to make her mine again.

If she didn't want me after I'd tried, I'd leave her be even if it would kill me.

I turned from the windows and the outstanding view of my Roza. I exited my room and made my way down the hall. I stopped in front of Abe's office door and knocked purposefully.

"Enter." I heard from within and turned the knob. "Belikov. What can I do for you?"

"I want to talk to you about Roz– Rose." I stumbled. His eyes narrowed at the mention of his daughter, and he motioned to the chair across from him. While the couches across the room looked much more inviting, I accepted the uncomfortableness of the situation.

"What about Rose?"

"I want to pursue her," I stated firmly.

"Pursue her?" Abe restated questioningly with raised eyebrows.

"Yes. I understand you must hate me after what I did to her, but I want to make it right. I love her. I miss her. I can't not have her in my life. I want your permission to let her know my intentions. I want to make her happy." I explained.

"And if you can't?" He asked, his eyes narrowing again.

"If she doesn't want me, I'll leave. You'll never see me again." I said wincing.

"You'll leave? Leave her? Never contact her again?" He asked leaning forward, his hands folded in front of him.

"If she asks it of me. If she'd rather stay friends, I can be her friend. If she just wants me to be her Guardian, I will be the best Guardian she can have. If she doesn't want to ever see me again, I'll leave and never return." I said, hoping that she'd want me and wouldn't send me away. I could barely go one day without having Roza in my life.

"Alright, Belikov. I believe you. I believe you can make her happy, but you're going to be working for it. She's not a reasonable person all the time. She's going to make your life hell until you can prove yourself to her." I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face despite his threatening words.

I had his permission. I just needed hers.

I stood and shook his hand before returning to my room. Roza was still floating in the water, and her face adopted a smile. She looked relaxed in the water. I wanted to be close to her, so I changed and headed for the beach.

I doubt she'd feel comfortable with me in the water with her, but I could sit on the beach and just watch her. Kyle came and sat down next to me, and we had a conversation similar to the one I'd had with Abe.

"I'm not promising anything, but I'll try to keep those two off your back," Kyle said gesturing toward Jasper and Christopher. After he left, I turned to find Roza staring at me. I beckoned to her, hoping that she'd come to me. She did.

"How are you feeling?" She asked breaking the silence.

"I've been better," I said lamely. "Rose. I want to ask you something."

"What do you want to ask me?" She asked looking over at me, though I couldn't meet her gaze.

"I want to start over," I stated.

"That's not a question, Dimitri." She said. "If you want to start over, why are you here? Being back here with me isn't starting over."

"That's not what I meant." I sighed. "I want us to start over. You had said yesterday that the man you fell in love with died in the caves in Montana. I told you yesterday that wasn't true, except that it is. I'm not the same man I was back in the academy. I'm definitely not the monster I was during my time as a Strigoi."

"What are you getting at?" She asked cautiously.

"I'm not the same person I was when we fell in love. You're not the same person you were when we fell in love. I'm asking if we can start over."

"Start over?" She repeated.

"Yes. I've done some stupid things since being restored, Rose. The things I did to you as a Strigoi were horrible, but my actions as a man were worse, far worse. I want to fall in love with you again. I want you to give us a chance, to give me a chance." I pleaded.

"So, we start over? A new slate?" Her brown eyes looking up into mine.

"Yes. That's all I want. If this doesn't work out, I'll leave, and you won't ever have to see me ever again." I said firmly, though the pain in my chest told me it would be hard to leave her even if she wanted it of me.

I could see the war waging in her eyes. The life that had once lived there started coming alive, and with it, my hope grew.

"I think I can give you a chance but only as a friend." She said softly. Not exactly what I was looking for, but I can work on it. I stuck my hand out for her to shake.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you," I said. "I'm Dimitri Belikov. I'll be your guardian."

"Hi, Dimitri." She said with a small smile. "I'm Rose Hathaway, and I don't need a guardian."

"From what I understand, you don't have much of a choice," I said lightly.

"I know, but don't think I'm going to be happy about this." She responded rolling her eyes.

She looked happy.

* * *

 _Hey guys,_

 _This was around the time in Under the Moonlight where I found that I enjoyed writing from Dimitri's perspective more than writing for Rose's, so the majority, if not all, of the rest of this story will most likely be written from Dimitri's perspective._

 _I hope you all have a wonderful day!_

 _~Victoria_


	13. Chapter 13

I can be _just_ friends. That's no big deal, right?

It wasn't like every time I saw her I wanted her in my arms.

It wasn't like every time I heard her laugh it made my heart soar.

It wasn't like every time she touched Christopher it made my fists clench, my jaw tighten or my eyes narrow.

Of course not.

That would mean I wasn't doing this _just friends_ thing correctly.

We'd been doing this friends thing for weeks now. I'd watched her prepare herself for fighting Strigoi. I'd watched her prepare us for defending and defeating. I'd watched as she prepared the guys for clubbing. I'd participated in that last preparation, but I wasn't too great at it.

I was only good if I was dancing with Roza. Christopher was fine by himself, and he seemed convinced that he could find a girl willing to let him dance with her. Jasper and Sydney were getting along fine without our help, though it took Sydney a little while to warm up to the rest of us.

"Do you guys know what we're doing?" Roza asked for the fifth time since getting dressed. We were going to Marquee. Pavel had informed us a couple hours ago and told us it was more upscale.

Roza wasn't carrying swords tonight, but we were all going in armed with stakes. She had Jasper and Christopher dressed similarly in light wash jeans with tight, almost transparent, white t-shirts. She'd instructed me to wear dark wash jeans with a white button down.

"We know what we're doing, Rosie." Christopher sighed again.

"I feel like an idiot," I stated, joining them in the living room.

"You look like an idiot," Jasper muttered. I barely heard him as Rose spoke over him.

"That's because you're wearing that shirt like it needs a tie." She rolled her eyes and motioned me over. I quickly complied and moved to stand in front of her. My breath caught as she reached for me. Her eyes were focused on my shirt though. "Let loose, Dimitri. Live a little but tuck in your shirt."

I looked down to see she'd unbuttoned the first three buttons on my shirt and was busy tucking in my shirt for me. I felt my lungs ache as I continued to hold my breath, praying that this wasn't a dream. She hadn't been this close to me for a while. I forgot how much I loved the way she smelled, like peaches. She'd started at the back of my shirt, pulling the fabric tight across my stomach, wrapping her arms around my waist to complete the task and was working her way to the front when I stopped her.

"I think I can manage from here, Roza," I whispered breathing heavily, my lungs trying to return to their normal functioning. She looked up at me and blushed.

"Sorry. I'm excited but a little nervous." She said smiling.

"Why does Belikov get to look like a Russian Adonis while the rest of us get to look like mere mortals?" Christopher grumbled dramatically. Rose grabbed my arm after I'd finished tucking in my shirt and began rolling up my sleeves. I was more than capable of rolling my own sleeves, but I was enjoying her delicate touch so I let it be.

"He was the only one fortunate enough to be my mortal lover," Rose responded just as dramatically, throwing an arm across her eyes. "It takes a special person for a goddess, such as myself, to fall in love once, never to happen again."

She and Christopher fell apart laughing, but my heart ached a little more when she said, 'never to happen again.' Would she really never love again? Or would she just never love _me_ again?

I could live with her never loving me again, kinda, but to never love again, ever, I didn't want that for her. She deserved to find love and happiness, even if I couldn't be the one to give it to her.

Only Kyle seemed to be paying attention to my internal crisis as Christopher and Rose moved toward the garage. Sydney and Jasper were following close behind.

"Don't worry, dude. She's coming around, it just takes time. Just think of it this way, she only wanted you to be dressed up tonight." Kyle said patting me on the shoulder before following the rest of the group.

I stood there trying to think of different reasons Roza would have for dressing me like this. It couldn't possibly be due to the fact that she wanted me to look like this for her benefit. That was the explanation I wanted to be correct, but it was also the one that gave me too much hope so I went with a different one: dressing like this would help the mission.

"Come on, Dimitri! Unless you want to be on the back, get your ass moving!" I heard Roza call from the garage. After hours of arguing, she'd relented to letting me drive Sasha with her on the back.

We decided it was best for Roza and me to travel together and the others to travel in an SUV. Kyle was very adamant that he would only be driving unless it was life or death. Roza and Sydney seemed perfectly fine with his decision, though I could tell Jasper and Christopher hoped that he would change his mind.

I entered the garage just in time to see Roza fixing her cloak. I don't even know where she found these things, but they were impressive. It was a cloak that fell around the top of her knees but doubled as a floor-length shirt should she fasten it around her waist.

She'd gone with a bright baby blue romper with an iridescent black cloak. As she hooked it around her shoulders, the split it created up the side gave a tantalizing view of her tanned legs. She grabbed one black helmet and held it out to me. I took it from her and waited for her to don hers before pulling mine over my head.

She motioned for me to climb on first, and I tried to calm myself as she wrapped her arms around me from behind. It astounded me how perfectly she fit against me, like we were made to be together.

"You alright, Dimitri?" She asked quietly when I still hadn't started Sasha.

"Yeah, just preparing myself for tonight," I responded, releasing a sigh when she squeezed me tighter.

"It'll be fine. We're not hunting, and if we encounter any Strigoi, we won't engage unless they're actively causing harm." She told me. I let her continue believing that I was preparing myself for hunting. In reality, I was preparing myself for the inevitable. Guys would be dancing with her tonight and there wasn't anything I could do about it.

She wasn't mine to protect, not that she needed my protection, and she'd informed me that in order to blend we needed to dance with other people. I had a hard enough time not killing Christopher when he touched Roza, and I knew they were only friends. I don't know what I'd do if I saw someone who clearly wanted to get into Roza's pants touching her.

"Comrade?" Roza's sweet voice broke me out of my murderous thoughts. I tried not to think too much about the nickname as I apologized and started the bike.

By the time we made it into the city, the sun had set. New York City is known as the city that never sleeps, and if the hustle and bustle happening around me was any indication, it had earned the nickname. We took the long way, opting not to cut through the busier midtown traffic, but even those streets were filled with people, cars, and taxis.

When we got into the city, traffic caused us to slow down, and Roza released the grip that she had on me and decided to loosely place her hands on my hips and sit up straight. I tried not to feel the lose her new position caused me or the ache my heart felt when she didn't notice.

I could practically feel the tension and excitement radiating off her as I pulled the bike to a stop in front of and the building. Abe had pulled several strings and had assured us that we could park anywhere, even in the middle of the street, and we wouldn't be towed.

"You go on in, Roza. I'll wait for the others." I told her as she swung her leg over to jump off. "Just be careful."

"Always am." She said confidently as she hooked her cloak around her waist. Each step she took away from me was another knife dug into my side. Her hips were swinging provocatively as the bouncer immediately let her pass.

She didn't even look over her shoulder as she disappeared into the packed building. Not even a minute later, Kyle pulled up behind me and the rest of our group piled out. Jasper threw his arm around Sydney's shoulder and led her inside without as much as a word to the rest of us.

"Christopher, can we talk for a second?" I asked before he could move inside.

"Sure? What's up?" Christopher asked eyeing me wearily.

"I know I have absolutely no right to ask this, but could you keep an eye on Roza tonight? I know she's not going to want to me interfere should any guy get a little too handsy, but I want to make sure she stays safe, not just from Strigoi."

"I think I can do that, though I'm sure she'll only act upset if you were the one to step in," Christopher said patting me on the shoulder before turning to go inside.

"Dimitri, I know you're worried about Rose, but try your best to have fun tonight. You aren't working, so just relax." Kyle said from his spot beside the vehicle.

"As long as Roza is alive, I'm always working," I said with finality. Kyle just sighed and shooed me inside. The bass-heavy music that could be felt from outside was almost dizzying inside.

With my height it made it easier to scan the crowd, but it also made me stand out. I could already feel several pairs of eyes on me as I made my way to the upstairs lounge area. As I ascended the stairs I could see Roza mingling, three guys trailing after her, their eyes glued on her ass.

Even in the flashing lights, I could see her eyes scanning cautiously. Her eyes snapped up to me before wandering down my body. I tore my eyes away from her as I reached the top of the stairs. There were couples grinding everywhere. There were more girls dancing in groups than guys, but I guess that was to be expected.

By the bar downstairs I could see guys knocking back shots, patting their buddies on the back before sending them after a female. Roza's body drew my eyes back to her as she wove her way to the middle of the dance floor. She had attracted more guys in her walk there.

She was dancing surrounded by males. She didn't seem to notice them all that much, even though their hands were moving in dangerous ways. I stood at the upper railing watching her mesmerizing hips as they swayed with each beat.

Her arms were above her head, hooked around the neck of the guy behind her as his hands gripped her hips. A smile played at her lips as she closed her eyes. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be the one behind her. Her ass brushing precariously against my crotch with each swing of her hips.

My eyes widened as I watched smoky tendrils pour from her beautifully tanned skin and pool at her feet. I was the only one that seemed to notice it, or so I thought.

I was vaguely aware of Christopher making his way over to Roza. He seemed to have attracted quite a bit of attention himself. Roza's eyes opened as he got closer. She smiled in his direction and looked up to meet my eyes. I could tell she knew it was my doing when she narrowed her eyes at me, but her Darkness dissipated.

She moved on to dance with the next guy, and I moved to the bar. I ordered water in a vodka glass. There was no way that I was going to be drinking tonight. Not only was I driving back tonight, I was also in charge of keeping Roza safe. There was no way I was going to prevent myself from keeping her safe by consuming any amount of alcohol.

I moved back toward the railing, but I sat on one of the leather couches that looked out over the dance floor. It gave me a great view of what was happening below without making it too obvious that I was watching.

I sipped my water as a few women came my direction. I turned my eyes away from their slim figures, wishing for a curvier figure to join me on the couch instead.

"Do you mind if we join you, handsome?" The blonde asked me. Her friend, a redhead, looked just as hopeful as she did. I motioned with the hand that wasn't occupied to the places beside me. They quickly sat on either side of me. The redhead sat to my left and clung to my arm while the blonde tucked herself under my right arm that was resting on the back of the couch.

"What's your name?" The redhead questioned after squeezing my bicep, drawing my attention away from the swaying bodies below me.

"Aleksandr," I responded in my most heavily accented voice I could muster without being unintelligible. We'd, meaning Roza, decided that we needed to have names that we could use should an 'interest' ask. I'd picked a common Russian name, Roza had picked Mary, Christopher picked Jack, and Jasper and Sydney picked Fred and Daphne.

"Russian? I'm Maria." The blonde, Maria, said letting her accent slip into her voice. I produced a small smile in her direction before finding Roza's eyes staring up at me. She was still surrounded by males that clung to her body far too much for my liking.

"What brings you here, Comrade." The redhead asked causing me to flinch. I hated that nickname when Roza gave it to me, but now it was just a reminder of her past affection. Other than her bringing me out of my reverie earlier, I hadn't heard the outrageous name come from her mouth for months.

"A friend," I responded enigmatically, taking another sip of my water as I maintained eye contact with Roza.

"Are you looking for one?" The redhead practically purred in my ear. A shiver of disgust ran through my body. To anyone who wasn't paying attention to my eyes, they would have thought it was arousal. These two were obviously not paying attention. The redhead shuffled even closer to me while Maria ran her hand up my thigh.

I quickly gripped her wrist, pulling my gaze away from Roza and fixing it on her surprised face.

"Please do not mistake my kindness as interest. I'm here for my friend, not to find company." I said in a light tone, though I'm sure my face was more threatening. I released Maria's wrist, and she and her friend quickly left looking terrified at my action.

I turned my attention back to Roza, who had continued to stare at me through the encounter. I raised an eyebrow at her as she looked at me with a quizzical expression. I beckoned her to me with a finger, and surprisingly she complied.

I watched amused as the guys she was dancing with looked confused at her sudden and unexplained departure. She paid them no mind as she made her way up to me, never once breaking eye contact. I took another sip of my water, trying to act as nonchalant as I could as she got closer.

She placed herself across my lap and took the glass from my hand as it was halfway to my mouth. She moved her lips closer to my ear, and this time I shuddered in desire. Her scent was intoxicating in and of itself. Her body was warm from the dancing she'd done, but there wasn't a hair out of place, and her makeup looked perfect.

"You need to learn to relax, Dimitri. Have some fun. Dance with someone." She said into my ear before pulling back. She knocked back the rest of my water, leaving an impression of her perfect lipstick on the glass before handing it back to me. My eyes followed the movement of her lips and the muscles of her throat as she swallowed.

"You're the only one I want to be dancing with, Roza," I said quietly, half hoping that she wouldn't hear me.

"So, come dance with me." She responded getting off my lap, much to my disappointment. She held out her hand, and I could do nothing but stare at it for a few seconds before moving to touch her. I placed the empty glass on the table near the couch as I followed her back downstairs.

She pulled me behind her as she wove her way through the crowd again. The music was much louder down here, the vibrations of the bass could be felt through the floor. She kept her back toward me as she started swaying to the music again.

I could see now why all the guys wanted to stand behind her as she danced. Not only did it do a great job at keeping her body pressed against mine while still moving, standing behind her, and being taller than her, gave a great view of her cleavage. The romper she was wearing, accentuated her ample breasts, leaving them on display for any guy who was lucky enough to stand behind her.

Thankfully, the music was loud enough to mask my moan as I looked down her chest. I gripped her hips and gradually let myself get lost in the feeling of her pressed against me. I moved with her, perfectly in sync, as the music faded into the background.

I'd forgotten just how perfect her body felt against mine. I'd forgotten how gracefully she could move. I'd forgotten just how mesmerizing she could be, how much attention she could demand just by existing.

I felt the love pouring from my heart as I gripped her hips tighter. Her arms reached back and pulled my head down to her neck. I didn't know if I could stay in that position without allowing myself a little pleasure.

I pressed my lips lightly to her wonderfully soft skin and was rewarded with a soft moan. Roza's eyes were closed and a smile lived on her face.

Unlike when she danced with the other guys, there was no Darkness around our feet. She looked genuinely happy as we continued to dance.

"Have you noticed any Strigoi around?" I asked in her ear, just wanting to hear her voice again.

"I haven't seen any, but they're here, I can feel them." She responded turning in my arms to face me. Her heels brought her a few inches closer to my face so I didn't have to bend as far down to reach her ear, and she didn't have to stretch as far up to reach mine.

"Are there a lot of them?" I asked running my hands up her sides.

"Probably not more than a dozen." She said keeping her eyes closed. I didn't know if she was keeping her eyes closed so she didn't have to look at me or because she didn't want to believe it was me she was dancing with. Personally, I was reveling in the feeling of her body against mine.

She looked so beautiful. I almost couldn't believe she was in my arms.

"How do you do that?" She asked so quietly I almost didn't hear it above the music thumping in my ears.

"Do what?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Keep the Darkness away." She elaborated looking up at me. Her brown eyes bore into mine, seeking an answer I couldn't give. "I feel weak around you because it won't come anywhere near you."

"I'm sorry," I said shamefully. I took a step back from her. I never meant to make her feel weak. She's strong, probably the strongest person I know.

Her hands quickly gripped my wrists before they would move too far from her body. I looked back into her eyes and found them looking at my lips.

"I didn't say I didn't like it, Comrade." She said breathlessly. Her eyes flicked back up to meet mine as my body moved without my permission.

I gripped her face in my hands and brought my lips down to hers. I tried to be gentle. I tried to show her how much she meant to me, how much I love her. I tried to pour my soul into this kiss because it could be the last time she let me near her.

I felt her body stiffen under my grasp as my lips moved against hers. Her hands flew to my chest, and for a moment I thought she was going to push me away. Her fingers dug into my flesh but the rest of her body relaxed into mine.

She grabbed the collar of my shirt and moved her lips to meet my level of passion. She pulled away sooner than I would have liked, but I lowered my head to her neck, trying to prolong the contact as long as possible.

She didn't push me away as I nipped and sucked at her skin. I felt more than heard the moan that she released when I brushed my teeth against her earlobe. I whispered her name in a breathless prayer when her body started moving to the music.

When her lips brushed my ear, I was expecting her to tell me to stop, that she didn't want this, that we could only be _just friends_. I was prepared to let her go, but the words of rejection never came. What came next was both terrifying and elating.

"Take me home, Comrade."


	14. Chapter 14

I pulled her from the club by the hand. It was a long drive back to the house, but I hoped that her determination was still there when we arrived.

I grabbed her face one more time before we put our helmets on.

"Are you sure about this, Roza?" I asked, knowing what I wanted the answer to be, but I also wanted her to be sure about this.

"No," She responded as she pushed me onto the bike and climbed onto behind me, "but I want this."

I suppose that was a decent answer. She could change her mind halfway home, and I'd still stop if she wanted me to. She could be naked in front of me and change her mind, and I'd stop.

Hell, I could be seconds away from spilling my essence inside her, and if she tells me to stop I would, in a heartbeat. I didn't want to force her into anything. I wasn't that kind of man before my time as a Strigoi, and I won't be that kind of man now.

"Do you want this?" She asked after a few minutes. Her voice sounded worried, and I felt her fingers dig into my stomach a little more as she waited for the answer.

"I only want this if you want this," I responded.

"You're a horrible liar." She mumbled but loosened her grip. I allowed myself to enjoy the feeling of her arms around me on the ride home. I didn't want to get my hopes up before, but now she'd begged me to take her home, to bed. I was going to enjoy every moment that she would allow me to.

As soon as we were clear of traffic, I let loose and smiled at Roza's squeal of excitement. Her arms tightened around me again as the road flew by under us. She'd occasionally place kisses on my back. The closer we got to the house the more confidently she traced the lines of my abs.

I tried not to focus on the woman clinging to me as I drove. I'd hate for our rush home to be ended in a wreck. I didn't want to tell her to stop because I didn't want her to stop.

The salty air brushed our skin as we flew along the beach-side road. Roza was off the bike before I had a chance to turn the thing off. She gently tossed her helmet on the bench and pulled mine off my head. She didn't look where she was placing it as she roughly brought her lips back to mine.

I lifted her by the waist as I stepped off the bike. Her legs wrapped around my hips as I supported her with an arm under her ass. I expertly maneuvered us through the house, only pausing slightly before starting up the stairs.

"Your room or mine?" I asked pulling away from her kisses momentarily.

"Yours." She mumbled against my lips. Her fingers were tangled in my hair, pulling roughly. Growls escaped my throat when she scraped her nails against my scalp while a moan emanated from her throat when I nipped her bottom lip.

Reaching my room, I tossed her gently on the bed before closing and locking the door, her father did live on this floor, after all, not to mention Pavel (who still hated me) across the hall.

Her giggle bounced off the walls as she bounced on the bed. She rose to her knees and crawled toward me as I stalked toward her. My hands cupped her face gently as her fingers worked on removing my shirt.

As much as I wanted this, wanted her, I wanted her to set the pace. I shivered as her fingertips danced over my skin. She pushed the fabric from my shoulders causing me to release her face momentarily to rid my body of it completely.

"Are you sure you want this?" I asked again, pulling back to look deeply into her eyes. I saw worry and determination.

"I want this." She said hesitantly. I pulled further back. She looked a little upset at my distance, but I could see the truth.

"Roza, you don't want this. You don't want me." I sighed stepping away from the bed. "Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know, Dimitri." She admitted taking her hands off my shoulders. "I'm scared and confused. You hurt me, if we're going to be honest it still hurts."

I opened my mouth to start apologizing for the thousandth time before she stopped me.

"But, you're wrong. I do what this." She said sitting back on her heels. "I want you."

"You do?" I asked looking up at her.

"Yes. I want us to move past all of this." She said waving her hands in the air. "I can't pretend that you're just my friend. You'll never be just my friend. I can see you're hurting just as much, if not more, as I am. I can feel it."

"I caused the pain, Roza," I mumbled looking down at the hands that were to blame.

"I want you to be happy, Dimitri. You of all people deserve happiness. I want what will make you happy. I don't want you to think I'm the one for you if I'm not. I don't want to be the person holding you back from your happiness." She started determined and strong, but when she finished, her voice was soft and wavering.

"Roza," I whispered as I stepped forward brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face and tilted her head to look at me. Tears had started to form in her eyes, and I hate them being there. "You are the one for me. You're the only one for me. I knew from the moment I saw you that I would be yours forever. Like you said earlier today, I'm just a moral that fell in love with a goddess. You're a goddess, milaya."

She leaned into my touch more, squeezing her eyes closed in hopes to fend off the invading tears.

"I want you to be happy. If I'm the one that makes you happy that makes me happy. If I'm no longer the one that makes you happy and you're happy with someone else, I'm happy. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"I just want you to be happy. I'm happy when you're happy." She whispered. Her eyes begged me to say the words she needed to hear. I leaned down to touch my forehead against hers knowing my next words would most likely cause the dam to break.

"I am happy, Roza," I said holding her watery gaze. "I'm happy because I love you." I brushed my lips against hers. One lone tear escaped her eye before she threw her arms around me and started sobbing.

All thoughts of sex flew from my mind as I tightened my arms around the woman I love as she cried into my chest. One arm wrapped securely around her waist, I moved the other into her hair smoothing it from her face. I knew from experience one way to calm a crying woman is to run your fingers through their hair.

I picked her up slightly so I could sit on the ground by the bed. I placed Roza in my lap as she continued to release her pain through her tears and her cries.

"I'm here, Roza, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere." I said fiercely, pained when my words only caused another round of loud sobs. "I love you."

I heard the knob turn softly and saw Pavel's head peer around the door. He took in my half-clothed attire and Roza's distressed state, and instead of looking murderous, he looked relieved.

Over the sounds of Roza's sobs, I heard him mumble, "It's about time."

He closed the door just as softly as he opened it and left me to deal with the tears of a distressed woman. I didn't understand how such a small girl could produce so many tears. I knew her lungs could produce louder sounds than this, I'd heard her scream, so the noise didn't surprise me.

"I hate seeing you cry, milaya," I whispered low, placing soft kisses in her hair. I continued to rub smooth circles on her lower back, rocking her back and forth, as the tears from her face transferred to my chest. I let her cry until her eyes stopped producing tears and her throat could no longer produce sounds other than whimpers.

Her breathing evened out, and her shaking died away. When I pulled back as far as I could I looked down at her to find her sleeping. Her eyes were closed but still leaking, and her beautiful face was marred by the tears. She was still clinging to me, one arm around my neck and the other on my chest over my heart.

I stood with her in my arms earning a small whimper from Roza. I tried to place her on the bed, but she clung to me tighter, refusing to let me go even in her sleep. As a result, I tightened my arms around her. As gently as I could manage, I eased myself back on the bed with Roza tucked safely into my side.

If I could manage it, last night would be the last night either of us slept without the other by our side. She relaxed into my hold, however, when I let go of her with one arm to reach for the blanket at the end of the bed, her nails dug into my chest and her face contorted in pain.

"It's okay, Roza. I'm not going anywhere." I whispered as I returned my arm around her waist, forgetting the blanket. Her face smoothed out, though her nails continued to dig into my skin.

I listened to Roza's even breaths, occasionally interrupted with a shuddering gasp as her body recovered from its breakdown. I looked down at her sleeping form and wondered how I could have harmed such a marvelous creation. Roza was beautiful, inside and out. She only wanted the best for everyone else.

She wanted to best for me. She chased down a legend to help me when all I did was try to kill her, numerous times. She fought for me when I was restored, though I never asked it of her. Even at the academy, before all this mess of being a Strigoi, she pushed me to be friendlier, less serious, to live and to experience all life had to offer.

She wanted to make me a better version of myself. Each person she encounters is left with a lasting impression of the beautiful woman lying beside me, and I'd pushed her away believing it to be best for her.

I wish I had run to her the moment I returned to myself. I wish I had pulled her to me in a warm, loving embrace. I wish I hadn't taken her love for granted. I wish so many things were different, but my main wish is for this woman to love me. I could do anything with her love backing me.

I could take on the world knowing I had her love, but after everything I had done, did I deserve it? That was the line of thinking that led me to the mistakes I'd made. I didn't deserve her love, her friendship, any of her attention, yet she gave it to me.

She deserved so much better than me. She deserved the world and everything good it had to offer, yet here she was in my arms, and this was where she wanted to be – at least for the moment.

She'd settled with a peaceful look on her face, though every time I shifted her brow would furrow momentarily before smoothing back out.

I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to enjoy every moment Roza was in my arms. I wanted to be awake for all of it, but eventually, Roza's breathing form lulled me into the most fulfilling sleep I've gotten since being restored.

My sleep started off quiet, only the darkness of my altered state of consciousness surrounded me. Suddenly images started flashing in my mind. Roza was dead at my feet, blood pouring from the gaping hole in her chest. I dropped to my knees screaming until I noticed the blood on my hands.

I'd killed her.

I'd killed my Roza.

The next flash was an image of myself holding Roza close. I smiled at the sight until my form started smiling maliciously. His eyes turned red. It wasn't the red-ringed eyes of a Strigoi but the eyes of a demonic entity born to kill. I started running toward the pair hoping to save my Roza.

The flash of silver came right before her scream. The scream was deafening and heartbreaking. The demonic me stood over her body looking satisfied. He looked up at me with a cold smile as I rushed closer before charging me. I expected the sting of a knife but only felt a cold rush of wind move through me.

I continued on my rush to Roza, kneeling next to her body in agony. Before I had the chance to touch her, I caught sight of my hands. They were stained with blood, and I was gripping the knife that had been used to kill her.

I'd killed her.

I'd killed my Roza.

"Dimitri." I heard her voice. I lifted my eyes from my bloodied hands to see Roza sitting up in front of me, blood gushing from the wound in her chest.

"Roza?" I asked in a broken whimper.

"Why'd you do it, Dimitri?" She asked as her eyes drained of life, her skin turning a sickening shade of grey. Her face hallowed in her state of death, yet she continued to stare at me.

"I didn't do this, Roza." I cried out.

"Why'd you hurt me?" She asked looking down at the blood-covered knife in my hand. I tried to throw the thing as far from me as I could, but every time I felt it leave my hand it ended up right back where it had started, in Roza. "Why do you continue to hurt me, Dimitri?"

"I didn't mean to, Roza!" I cried, tears rolling down my face. "I love you, Roza. I would never intentionally hurt you?"

"Look what you've done. You've killed me." She whispered as she slowly dissipated from my sight.

"Roza!" I screamed. My pain was intense, and I only wanted it to end. The look of Roza's dead body flashed in my mind again. Her lifeless eyes staring into my soul, mocking me, blaming me.

The knife still in my hand, I turned it on myself.

"I'm so sorry, Roza," I mumbled before I felt the sting of metal on flesh. Roza was already dead. No one was there to save me, not that anyone could. I only wish that I was brave enough to accomplish this before I had the chance to hurt the love of my life.

Her loving laughter echoed in my mind as I slowly bled into nothing. Her smile flashed before my eyes but was gone before I could fully appreciate it.

My eyes were staring into the darkness when the image of my red-eyed-self materialized in front of me. His look was one of accomplishment. He'd managed to kill both Roza and me. He'd taken two souls with one knife.

Two souls with four words.

"I love you, Roza," I mumbled with my last breath as the darkness claimed me, wishing I'd said those four words instead.

"Dimitri!" Her scream had me bolting straight up. Her hands were on my shoulders, and her face held deep concern.

Her face was inches from mine as she was kneeling on the bed beside me. Her eyes captured mine and held my gaze. I felt my lungs heave as I sucked in a breath. She slid one hand up my shoulder to the side of my face where she used her thumb to brush away a stray tear.

"I'm here, Comrade." She whispered soothingly. "I'm not going anywhere."

 _Comrade._

I'd waited so long to hear that stupid word push past her lips.

"Roza," I whispered reaching my hand up to her face. My throat was dry, and I felt like I'd been crying for hours. She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch. "You're here."

"I'm here." She whispered turning her head to kiss the inside of my wrist.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you. I never meant to." I choked out before I started rambling. "I never meant to hurt you. I only wanted what was best for you. I'd hurt you so much as a Strigoi. I couldn't stand seeing you. You were just a constant reminder of everything bad I'd ever done, yet you were the one good thing in my life, and I pushed you out. I'm so sorry, Roza. I never meant those words. I love you. You deserve so much better than me, and I honestly can't believe you still wanted me. After everything that I had done to you, you should have hated me. You should have killed me."

"I tried. Remember?" She joked cautiously.

"You should have let Eddie kill me," I whispered remembering how she'd stopped him in Vegas. "You shouldn't have risked your life to save a monster like me. All I ever did was hurt you. All I ever do is hurt you."

"That's not true, Comrade, and you know it." She said fiercely, the tears starting to well in her eyes again. I hated seeing them there. "You made me the strong woman I am today. If you hadn't stood up for me, I would have been shipped off to God knows where. If you hadn't cared enough, I never would have been good enough to graduate top of my class, even taking a month out. If you hadn't loved me, we never would have known how much Spirit could do. It was because you loved me that we made it to this point."

"Love," I whispered staring up at her in awe.

"What?" She asked cocking her head to the side.

"You said it was because I loved you, but it's not that. It's because I _love_ you. I still love you, Roza. Nothing is going to change that. If you send me away after I finish telling you this, I'm still going to love you. You could call me every hateful name in the book, and, while I'll deserve every one of them, I'll still love you. You could file a restraining order on me, and I'll never see you again, but I'll still love you. You could fall in love tomorrow with the man of your dreams and leave me in the dust, but I'll still love you. You are the woman that I was made to love. I might not be the man that you were made to love, but my love was made for you. And I really wish you would stop crying."

Halfway through my spiel, Roza had started crying, and her tears came faster the longer I spoke. I hated seeing tears in her eyes, even if, by the look on her face, they were happy tears.

"If you weren't such a sweet and wonderful man, I wouldn't be crying." She sobbed throwing her arms around my neck. She'd straddled my lap as I pulled her body closer to mine.

"Do you want me to stop?" I teased lightly, hoping her tears would stop soon. My kisses should be the only thing covering her face.

"Never." She said fiercely, tightening her arms around my neck. She was starting to cut off oxygen, but I didn't want her to move, so I dealt with it, at least for a little while longer.

We sat like that until my need for oxygen surpassed my need for her arms around me. I pulled back and looked at her.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly.

"Never better." She responded shyly under the intensity of my gaze.

"I love you, Roza," I whispered letting my eyes glance down at her lips. They looked soft even after her gnawing on them in worry. Her eyes were puffy and red from all her crying, but she was still beautiful. "You're so beautiful. I don't think you'll ever know just how beautiful you are."

"I feel beautiful when I'm with you, Dimitri." She said, tears welling in her eyes again.

"I need to stop speaking," I mumbled.

"Only stop talking if you don't have anything nice to say." She smirked as she wiped at the offending liquid.

"I'll keep that in mind." I chuckled. We sat there staring at each other before her hand suddenly came up and slapped me across the face.

I was so stunned that all I could do was stare at her. Her look turned stormy, and I knew if the Darkness could touch me, I'd be in pain.

"What was that for?" I finally managed to sputter out.

" _That_ was for being an idiot!" She yelled crossing her arms over her chest. I tried to keep my eyes on her face as not to aggravate her further, but I could help but be drawn to her beautiful curves.

Her hand came up a second time to slap me, and I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to.

"What was that one for?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows, ignoring the sting in my cheek.

" _That_ was for being a pig." She said glaring. I saw her start to move her hand again, but I wasn't going to let her slap me again. If she wanted to fight, we'd go downstairs and fight. I gripped her wrist as it was bringing her hand closer to my face and quickly flipped her on her back.

"What was that one going to be for?" I asked as she glared from underneath me.

"That was because I love you."


	15. Chapter 15

"Because you love me?" I questioned quietly. "You love me?"

"Yes, you big dolt." She huffed as she gave up her struggle to get out of my grasp.

"You love me?" I voiced again, making sure I heard her right.

"Do I need to try it in a different language?" She remarked sarcastically. "Ya lyublyu tebya, Dimitriy."

The need to kiss her, to feel her lips pressed tightly against mine, was overwhelming as I heard the Russian escape her mouth, but I didn't have control over my body enough to execute the movement. My mind was still reeling from her revelation, and the fact that she could speak Russian, she even had a little bit of an accent when she spoke.

"Ya lyublyu tebya, Roza," I whispered.

"Great, now get off me." She said. "I'm still upset with you."

"What are you upset about?" I asked rolling off to the side immediately.

"You, for being an idiot." She yelled removing herself from my bed as quickly as possible. She straightened her clothing and marched out the door, leaving me stunned.

I snapped out of my frozen state when her door slammed closed down the hall. I rushed out into the hallway in time to see Abe and Pavel standing near the stairs looking just as stunned as I felt.

Abe ran his eyes over my attire, or lack thereof, and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm assuming you guys made up," Pavel said pointing to Roza's room, a tone of hopefulness tainting his words.

"I thought we had, and then she stormed out of my room telling me she was mad at me for being an idiot, but I don't know what I did wrong this time," I explained running a hand through my hair with a frustrated sigh.

"Then you're definitely an idiot," Abe said sagely.

"What did I do to be considered an idiot?" I asked trying to understand. Before either of them could answer, Roza abruptly opened her door dressed in running gear, though she was lacking shoes.

She glared at me before pushing past Abe and Pavel without so much as a greeting. Abe looked after her with a confused expression. Pavel kept looking at me, assessing my reaction to Roza. I'm sure my face reflected my current state: confused and lost.

"What did I do?" I asked quietly when we heard the back-door slam.

"What did you do?" Christopher asked in a threatening tone.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" I said throwing my hands up in exasperation.

"Why don't we all move into my office to discuss this," Abe suggested motioning for all of us, including the newly arrived Guardians, to move down to his office. Everyone else started in the direction immediately, but I hesitated, looking down the stairs, contemplating whether to follow Roza or Abe before Abe made the decision for me. "Belikov, that includes you."

I nodded in compliance and entered Abe's office. Christopher was pacing in front of the windows where you could barely see Roza off in the distance as she moved in a blur down the beach, smoky black tails trailing after her. Pavel was leaning against the wall by the fireplace, and Kyle and Jasper were sitting on the sofas, leaning forward with their hands clasped in front of them.

Abe closed the door behind us and sat in one of the chairs in between Jasper and Kyle. I opted to stay standing.

"Dimitri, why don't you tell us what happened last night and this morning," Abe suggested though it sounded more like a command.

"Well…we…we were dancing last night…" I began, not really knowing where to start and sharing wasn't exactly my specialty.

"I figured as much considering you went to a club, but how did she end up in your room last night? How did you end up like that?" Pavel asked and motioned to my half-dressed state.

"She asked me to take her home," I stated leaving out all the personal details.

"Was she tired of being in the club?" Christopher asked.

"You could say that," I mumbled looking toward the floor rubbing the back of my neck.

"What happened between you two?" Kyle asked with an amused expression, I forgot that he would have seen everything from inside his vehicle.

"We shared a moment, and she asked me to take her home," I explained again.

"Then how did you end up in your room?" Jasper asked wearing the same amused expression that Kyle had. Only Christopher looked a little put out by the events of last night.

"That's where she said she wanted to be," I stated

"I find that hard to believe." Christopher scoffed looking out the windows. At least he'd stopped pacing.

"Believe me, I did too," I mumbled.

"What moment did you share?" Abe asked. How was I meant to share that his daughter and I were making out and on our way to much more passionate actions?

"An intense moment I'm not sure you really want to hear about nor do I really want to share with you." I finally said blushing.

"You're probably right, but if that's true, what happened this morning to make her upset?" Pavel asked, and I tried to ignore Abe's murderous glare. It wasn't like I defiled his daughter or anything, I just wanted to.

"We'd finally admitted how we both felt about each other, though her admission was much more violent than mine. Then she stormed out of my room calling me an idiot." I concluded.

"Well, I personally can't see why she would call you an idiot, especially if you finally got her to admit she's in love with you, but you must have done something wrong," Kyle said with a shrug. Jasper and Pavel nodded in agreeance while Abe and Christopher stayed silent, though I think Abe was just thinking.

"What's going to happen now that you've both admitted that truth?" Christopher asked finally.

"I'm not sure. I'm really hoping this changes things. I still plan on courting her. I want to date, but I'm not sure if she'll let me." I said.

"She will, but you'll have to work for it. It won't be easy." Jasper said with a smirk.

"Nothing with her ever is, but she's more than worth it," I said watching as Roza sped back up to the house. I don't know how she managed it, but there wasn't a hair out of place, and the sheen from working out was noticeably absent from her skin. "She's worth everything I have to offer and so much more."

"Whipped." Christopher chuckled.

"Damn right." I retorted before I could stop myself. There was a moment of silence where I hoped no one heard me before the whole room started laughing. I felt my cheeks heat when the door burst open.

The guys instantly quieted and we all turned toward the door to see a miffed Roza. Her eyes passed over Pavel, Kyle and Jasper, narrowed at Christopher and Abe, and finally landed on me. Even though her eyes narrowed dangerously, the look in her eyes softened. I suppose she couldn't be too mad at me.

"Rose? Are you okay?" Kyle asked with a smirk.

"I'm fine. I need to talk to Dimitri." She said never taking her eyes off me.

I snuck a glance at Abe, and he gave me a subtle nod. I followed her out into the hall. She didn't say anything as she walked down the hall to my room. She dug around in my drawers until she found that she was looking for.

I barely caught what she threw at me. They were a pair of gym shorts. I looked up at her to find her giving me a pointed look. I quickly took my pants off, very much aware that she was staring at me the entire time. I pulled the shorts on and wondered if I should find a shirt, but since she didn't give me one, I decided against it.

I looked up at her to ask her what we were doing, but she just walked out the door. I followed her all the way down to the gym where we lowered ourselves into fighting stances.

She'd grown a lot more patient since the last time we'd fought. Her patience outlasted mine, that or I couldn't stand the thought of not touching her again. I didn't know what her game was, but I was all for playing it.

Her eyes were focused, though when she met my steady gaze her demeanor relaxed slightly. We circled until I couldn't take the lack of action any longer. I dropped in an attempt to sweep her legs from under her, but she knew. Instead of just jumping over my leg, like a normal person would, she vaulted over me using my shoulders to propel herself over my back.

She landed silently, so silently in fact that I thought she might still be in the air until I turned to see her back in her original defensive position. While I kept my eyes glued to her face, her gaze was firmly planted on my sternum.

I threw a punch toward her face, technically off limits, but I don't think Strigoi would usually play by the rules. Her eyes barely flickered to where my hand was rushing toward her face when she stopped it by the use of her forearm. In retaliation for my attack, she brought her elbow up and jabbed me in the side of the throat.

She'd already recoiled and stepped back by the time I had the sense to raise my left arm to block it. I saw the sense of accomplishment flash in her eyes before she focused again. She didn't seem mad or irritated, which was comforting considering her previous attitude toward me. She just seemed focused.

"Roza?" I questioned. Her eyes raised to meet mine, and I sensed her hesitation. I held her gaze as I made my next move. She seemed to be trapped in my eyes as I aimed my punch at her ribs. I pulled my punch quickly realizing she wasn't going to block me.

Her defensive stance had been completely forfeit, and she stood before me completely enthralled by my eyes. I don't think she even felt the blow to her ribs, she didn't even stagger. I remained in my fighting stance, not sure what was going on, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Roza?" I spoke once more trying to draw her attention. She didn't respond verbally, but she did tilt her head to the side in confusion. She just stood there unblinking, staring at me.

I raised my hand to her cheek, wondering if my touch could pull her from her daze. When my fingers brushed her skin, there was an odd spark that leapt from my fingers. It didn't hurt, at least it didn't hurt me, and Roza didn't respond other than a small smile that crept over her face.

I gently cupped her face, watching in awe and wonder as the sparks jumped from my skin to hers. They glowed an odd purple and seemed to skate across her skin before disappearing beneath the surface.

Her eyes seemed glazed over as she continued to stare into mine.

"Roza, can you speak?" I whispered brushing my thumbs across her cheeks. She nodded in my hands but didn't make a motion to speak. "Would you speak for me?"

"What would you like me to say?" She asked dreamily. I didn't answer, though I knew my eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her tone.

"That answer will suffice for now," I muttered. I heard someone coming down the stairs but didn't look away from Roza.

"What did you do to her?" Christopher's voice spread across the room.

"I didn't do anything," I said quietly, but I knew the sound would carry in the empty gym.

"Then what's wrong with her?" He growled coming closer. I heard other footsteps on the stairs but remained focused on Roza.

"I don't know," I responded. Roza's gaze still hadn't left mine, but her smile had disappeared when Christopher started talking. That was the only indication that she was focused on someone other than me.

"Belikov? What's going on?" I heard Abe question cautiously.

"I don't know." I ground out again. I could feel the frustration in the room as I gave the same answer to all their questions. Eventually, I explained the short events that led up to Roza's trance.

"Do you think that you could get her to do something?" Abe asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking away from Roza for the first time.

"You said that she responded when you asked her questions. Can you ask her to do something?" He explained.

"What should I ask her?" I asked turning my attention back to Roza. She looked more troubled than I had left her looking seconds ago.

"Ask her to kiss you." Kyle offered.

"Why would I do something like that? She's in a daze, and you're wanting me to take advantage of that?" I asked astonished. Roza had returned to the dreamy look she'd had earlier.

"Don't act like you don't want to kiss her." Jasper scoffed. "If you won't ask her to kiss you, ask her to fight."

I was hesitant to ask either option. I didn't want their suspicions to be proven, but I wanted to know how to help Roza, and to do that, I need to know what was wrong with her in the first place.

"Roza? I want you to fight Kyle." I whispered. She gave an almost imperceptible nod and smiled at me. She abruptly turned from me and face Kyle who was on her left.

"Really, dude? You had to ask her to fight me?" Kyle said exasperatedly. I only shrugged in response and watched in amazement as Roza lowered herself into the fighting stance.

Where she had patience when fighting me, she seemed almost too eager to get this fight over with. She lunged at Kyle causing him to dodge rather clumsily. Kyle wasn't expecting it but quickly righted himself and went on the defensive.

Roza was moving so quickly, all Kyle could do was block her moves at the very last second. He was sustaining some serious damage. It didn't appear that Roza was going for the kill, just fighting, but she was fighting to injure.

"Stop," I commanded as I saw Kyle wearing down, and Roza immediately dropped her fists to her side and turned back toward me. Kyle shot me a thankful and irritated glance before it turned concerned.

"Alright, so Belikov has control over Rose," Christopher said finally.

"How did this happen?" Abe asked quietly.

"I don't know. We were sparring one minute, the next she was like this, only answering when I asked a question." I explained again.

"Well, have you asked her what's going on?" Pavel asked.

"No. I hadn't even thought to do that." I mumbled. Roza had slowly made her way to stand directly in front of me. "Roza, what's going on?"

"What do you mean, Dimitri?" She asked with a confused expression.

"Why are you only responding to me? Why are you following my every command?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" She responded with furrowed eyebrows.

"Not really. Could you explain it to me?"

"You hold the Light." She whispered. "The Light controls the Darkness if it tries hard enough."

"What's the Light?" I questioned in a whisper. I could feel the others creeping closer to hear our conversation, but I was focused on Roza.

"The Light is rare and powerful. It only appears in a being that has walked amongst the dead but belonged to the land of the living. The Darkness is also rare and powerful. It appears in a being who belongs with the dead yet walks in the land of the living." She explained. "The Light is more powerful than the Darkness, powerful enough to control the Darkness, even."

"What if I don't want to control the Darkness?" I asked.

"The Light and the Darkness must live in harmony. If they don't, one will always control the other."

"How do I live in harmony with you? How do I get you back, Roza?" I quickly asked, hoping to find my answer.

"I can't give you that answer, Dimitri." She responded. I felt my shoulders sag in defeat until Roza placed a hand on my chest. I felt a tingling sensation as her hand contacted my bare skin. I looked down and saw bright yellow sparks dancing across my skin, as the purple ones had danced across Roza's.

Before I knew what I was doing, my lips met hers in a fiery dance. I closed my eyes at the sensation of kissing Roza, but I could still see the dancing colors of sparks through my eyelids.

Her lips molded perfectly to mine. Her one hand still on my chest, the other came to grip the back of my neck. I'd placed my hands on her hips to pull her closer, but I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

I reluctantly pulled myself away from Roza. She was breathing heavily and looking around as if she'd just woken up.

"Roza?" I asked quickly, realizing she'd come out of whatever trance I'd put her in.

"What happened?" She asked not looking into my eyes.

"What do you remember?" Jasper asked.

"I remember everything, but I don't know what happened," Roza said. "I remember doing as Dimitri asked of me. I remember all the conversations you guys had around me, but I wasn't able to contribute. I was only able to look at Dimitri and do as he commanded."

"And you couldn't break free of my hold?" I asked.

"No. It was like I was feeling what you were feeling. I looked into your eyes and I was completely at your mercy." She spoke the last part so quietly I was absolutely sure that I was the only one that heard it. I tried not to think about what I could do with Roza at my mercy, but the thoughts came unhindered.

"Dimitri!" Roza exclaimed raising her eyes to meet mine in astonishment, as if she could tell what I was thinking. I felt my mind go foggy. My field of vision narrowed and all I saw was Roza. She had this sort of light emitting from her. I don't think it was her aura, though, because Adrian had always said hers was black. It was a purple light that faded from an eggplant to a lavender.

I heard her breath catch in her throat as I stared deep into her irises.

"Shit." She muttered.

"What? What happened?" Came a muffled voice. It was almost as if there was a wall between me and whoever was speaking. Only Roza's voice was clear.

"I've done it." She growled. "How do I stop it?"

I felt her frustration and panic grow. My eyes grew wide in concern and my heart rate increased. I felt the adrenaline pumping through my veins, trying to anticipate Roza's next move to help her.

A voice responded to her question, but I couldn't make out whose it was. Roza quickly threw her arms around my neck and pulled my lips down to hers. She tasted so sweet. Her lips were so perfect as they moved against mine.

I moaned into her mouth as she nipped at my bottom lip. A sense of déjà vu overtook me as someone cleared their throat behind me. Roza quickly pulled away leaving me wanting more.

At some point during the kiss, the fog on my mind had lifted. My mind became my own again, and I looked down at Roza in awe.

"Was that what it was like for you?" I asked breathlessly.

"Probably." She mumbled, not meeting my eye. I wanted so badly to stare into her soul as she had done with mine, but I also didn't want a repeat of what just happened.

"Alright, so, heightened emotions are most likely the trigger," Christopher said rubbing his brow. "So far, the only way we know how to break it is for you two to start making out."

"Roza had said that we need to live in harmony for one not to control the other." I provided.

"Up until today, you two couldn't stand each other, how are you going to live in harmony?" Pavel pointed out.

"I don't know, but we better figure it out quickly," Roza said. I could see the anxiety begin to fill her eyes. I reached down and gently took her hand in mine rubbing small circles over her knuckles.

She visibly relaxed and a sense of calm overtook me. I suppose this was one way to live in harmony.

"Until we figure it out, I don't think we can hunt without putting either of us in danger," I said cutting Roza's argument off with just a look. She still seemed defiant, though I'm sure she actually agreed with me.

"I agree," Abe stated. "It seems that the two of you have a lot to discuss."

I looked down at Roza to find her already looking at me. She had a small blush on her face and quickly looked away from my gaze. Abe gave us one last look. It was calculating and stern. He gave a sharp nod and turned on his heels. He silently ascended the stairs as the others continued to stare at Roza and me.

"We'll leave you to it, then," Pavel muttered following Abe up the stairs after giving us the same calculating stare. The other three looked a little more hesitant, but they followed soon after, leaving Roza and I standing in the middle of the gym alone.

"Would you care you go for a walk on the beach?" I asked taking notice that I still had her hand in mine. Her warmth spread through me, heating my cold bones, bringing me back to the life that I once had with her.

"Sure." She said quietly as she tangled her fingers with mine. "We have a lot to talk about, Comrade."

"Of course, Roza."


	16. Chapter 16

"How are you feeling?" I asked after we'd walked down the beach in silence for almost half an hour. I couldn't help but stare at her for the majority of that time. She had a thoughtful expression that would occasionally be broken by a small grin.

"I'm confused." She stated plainly.

"Do you wish to elaborate?" I prodded when she didn't say any more.

"Once I figure out what I'm confused about." She muttered.

"So, you're confused about being confused?" I asked with a chuckle.

"It seems so." She agreed with a shy smile.

"Perhaps we should start with what happened last night." I offered. The big picture was too wide for us to fully comprehend in one glance, so why not start with the smaller details first?

"That might be best." She said more confidently.

"Do you want me to start?" I asked when she, again, didn't continue.

"If you don't mind." She said looking up at me.

"Do you have a preference as to how far back I should go? Or perhaps what you want me to explain?"

"At the club, why didn't you dance with those two girls?" She asked after a moment of thought.

"You really have to ask that?" I snorted, but she continued to look up at me expectantly. "I couldn't dance with another woman that wasn't you."

"Why not?" She asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Just the thought of anyone else in my arms is repulsive. I could barely continue on in a conversation with the two of them. There was no way that I could have stood their bodies pressed against mine. I knew that if anyone was going to be that close to me, they would either be dead soon or they'd be you." I explained.

"How could you know that?" She asked, her eyebrows still furrowed.

"I know because I love you," I stated. Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "What? I told you that this morning. I told you that last week. Are you really still surprised by it?"

"I don't know. Sometimes I think that I just dreamed it, you loving me, that is. 'Love fades. Mine has.' Those words replay in my head every time you say, 'I love you.'" She mumbled looking out over the vast blue ocean.

Her words stung deep. I regretted those four words as soon as they'd left my mouth. I figured they'd eventually lead to her happiness, but they actually led to our shared demise. I was trying to fix my massive mistake, but I'd already scarred her. She didn't trust me enough to let me love her again. She loves me, but she wouldn't let herself be _in love_ with me.

"I suppose that I can't say, 'I love you,' anymore, can I?" I mussed. I could feel her body stiffen as she gripped my hand tighter. "If I can't say it, I'll just show you."

She turned to me to say something, but I quickly took possession of her lips, effectively cutting the words off before they could form on her tongue. She relaxed against my chest and looped her arms around the back of my neck.

Her tongue nudged my bottom lip, and I eagerly opened my mouth to allow it entrance. The cool waves lapped at our feet as we gradually sank into the shifting sand. My hands sat on the curve of her hips not really knowing if I should push for more. I was grateful that she was allowing this much.

She dominated the kiss. Her tongue pushed my tongue back when I tried to retaliate. Her fingers tangled in my hair, and her nails scraped against my scalp.

I felt a familiar sensation of my mind clouding over, and I knew I needed to break contact. With my hands already placed on her hips, I violently pulled myself from her grasp, both mentally and physically.

I averted my eyes to the sand beneath us and tried to catch my breath. I saw her take a few steps back as she, too, fought to control her breathing.

"I'm sorry." She said finally. She'd caught her breath, but her voice sounded pained.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." I said holding up my hands in apology.

"Don't say that." She replied quietly.

"Say what?" I asked meeting her gaze. I felt a peace settle around me as I saw a loving expression on her face.

"Don't say that you shouldn't have done that. You should have done that several times since being restored. You should have done that several times since showing up here. You should have done that several times since you woke up this morning." She said inching her way closer to me. "You, however, should have fought me harder when I took control of the kiss."

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"I mean, we must live in harmony. That's what I said, right? When we broke each other out of our respective trances, we both contributed equally to the kiss. We moved together, as one. You initiated this kiss, but you let me take over. You didn't fight it hard enough."

"I can't fight you, especially when you take control like that," I replied glancing down at her lips as they curled into a smirk.

"Then you'll need to learn. We'll train, just the two of us." She said turning back toward the house. She held out her hand, and I didn't hesitate to slip mine into hers. The same sort of peace that filled me when looking upon her face filled me as the warmth from her hand spread through mine.

"What kind of training can we do? It seems that if one of us takes control over the other, the other becomes entranced. Training is all about getting the upper hand." I said.

"Not really. Training is about getting better. Usually when you train, one is better than the other. The one that is lagging behind attempts to catch up. We're going to train until we're equally matched with no room for improvement." She said with a wide smile. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"I think you have an unfair advantage, though, with the Darkness." I pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but my Darkness doesn't like being around your Light, and I doubt that your Light likes my Darkness. No, Comrade, this is going to be an even playing field. Just you and me. No help from supernatural forces." She said pulling me behind her eagerly.

She pulled me back into the gym and released my hand. She raised bother her arms and twirled around.

"Where do you want to start?" She asked looking up at me. I stared at her in wonder. There were so many things in which I wanted to be just as good as her, but I couldn't think of where to begin.

"Can we start with the kissing bit again?" I asked hopefully. Her smirk grew again as she stepped forward.

"Are you sure that's where you want to start?" She whispered placing her hands on my chest. I could see the golden glow of the sparks dance on her skin when she touched me. Her eyes danced with fire as she tilted her head further back.

I lowered my lips to hers and pulled her close by her hips. While the kiss was fantastic, as it usually was when kissing her, I was more cognizant of who was controlling the kiss. Her plump lips moved gingerly against mine in a silent question.

I made the move to deepen the kiss by gently nipping at her bottom lip. She opened her lips only to meet my tongue halfway. As my arms wrapped around her waist, hers looped themselves around my neck so she could run her fingers through my hair.

I moved one hand up her back to tangle it in her long tresses. I wanted her wrapped around my body, and as if thinking about it made it happen, she jumped to wrap her legs around my hips.

I quickly released her hair to place my hands under her ass to support her. It was as if we were in perfect sync with each other. We unknowingly took turns revenging the other's neck when we pulled back to breathe. Her legs tightened when my arms did. Her heart beat in time with mine.

I had unconsciously walked toward the nearest wall so I could run my hands all over her body without dropping her. Her soft skin and smooth curves belied her power, but in my hands, she was putty.

When we heard someone rushing down the stairs, I almost dropped her. Had her legs not been so tightly wrapped around me, she would have fallen on her ass. Sydney busted into the gym out of breath. I made a mental note to have her start endurance training.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt," Sydney exclaimed blushing as she took us in. Neither Roza nor I made any action to move from our position against the wall as we waited to hear Sydney's excuse for interrupting us. "There are a few Alchemists upstairs that want to install the hologram system. This is the only day they can do it, and if they don't get started soon it will be a few weeks before they can get back out here."

"That's okay," Roza said while looking at me. "We were just about to grab a shower."

I did nothing but nod. I had a feeling that Roza wanted me to join her in that shower, but I didn't want to make any assumptions. When I made a move to set her down, she tightened her arms around my neck and shook her head slightly.

I couldn't help the smirk that took over my face as I carried her past a shocked looking Sydney and up the stairs. Roza rested her head in the curve of my neck, occasionally placing a light kiss on my sensitive skin.

I ignored the murderous looks I received from Abe and Christopher and focused on the encouraging look I got from Kyle. I know they were all concerned about Roza, but only Kyle really understood that I was the key to her happiness. I think Jasper was starting to understand, but I think that also had more to do with Sydney than anything.

"Your room or mine?" I asked as I had last night, except she responded with the opposite answer.

"Mine." She mumbled against my neck.

"Would you like me to stay?" I questioned as I ascended the stairs to the third floor.

"Who else am I going to shower with? Christopher?" She retorted sarcastically.

"Over my dead body," I growled. I squeezed her ass a little harshly to convey how upset the thought of Christopher showering with her made me. She rewarded me with a sexy yelp.

"I'm still mad at you." She said with no conviction as I entered her bedroom. Her boxes from Turkey had arrived earlier in the week, so her room was black and white with bright accents of red. It seemed that her colors were black and red, but I suppose she was branching out considering her recent wardrobe.

"Perhaps I can change your mind," I responded passing into the bathroom. Much like mine, her bathroom had a shower and a tub, but her shower was bigger than mine with a large showerhead that rained water down from directly overhead.

"Mmm…how do you intend to change my mind?" She asked pulling back to look at me. I sat her down on the cold tile and watched as she shivered before pulling herself closer to me.

"I have my ways," I mumbled running my hands up her sides. This time she shivered at the contact, not at the temperature. I slipped my hands under the sides of her bra and began working it over her head.

Her plump breasts hung heavy as I discarded the flimsy material. She didn't make a move to stop me as my fingers hooked themselves in the waistband of her shorts. She placed her hands on my chest and gently traced patterns, leaving glowing trails in her wake.

She broke contact as I knelt in front of her pulling her shorts down as I went. She stepped out of the clothing and was left bare before me. I felt like I was kneeling before a goddess. I slowly ran my fingers up the outside of her legs watching mesmerized as the glowing purple sparks danced around.

Kneeling before her, my eyesight was right in line with her breasts. Her chest was heaving as she placed her hands on my shoulders to steady herself. She tilted her head back closing her eyes.

The higher my fingers worked up her leg, the deeper her nails dug into my back. Our intake of air increased as I moved my hand around the front of her thigh. She let out a moan when I rubbed my thumbs over her hip bones. I pulled her closer by her hips and placed my lips on her stomach, slightly above her navel.

My forehead was resting between the warmth of her breasts. Her fingers tangled themselves in my hair, and her nails scraped against my scalp.

"I love you, Roza," I mumbled against her skin. She tightened her grip on my hair, pulling my head back so I looked up at her.

"Don't tell me." She whispered huskily. "Show me."

"I'll spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I love you," I promised bringing my lips up to hers. I lifted her into the steady stream of hot water, setting her down before stripping myself of my clothes.

I stood outside the shower watching the water cover her body. She tilted her head up toward the water, closing her eyes and releasing a contented sigh. I found myself getting a little jealous of the water as I watched it glided down her perfect body.

She ran her hands up her stomach, between her breasts, around the back of her neck, and into her hair. She ran her fingers through her long locks detangling them as they soaked through. She shifted on her feet, bending one leg, and drawing my eyes to her legs.

Her right leg was bent at the knee, her toes resting gently on the tile floor. She ran her hands back down her body, passing over her shoulders and stopping just below her hips.

"Are you going to stand there all day gawking, or are you going to join me?" She asked tilting her head to the side and opening one eye to look at me.

"What if I'm enjoying the view?" I asked with a smirk, running my eyes along her body once more.

"I guarantee you the view is better up close." She responded using her finger to beckon me to join her. I gingerly stepped into the shower cubicle with her and shut the glass door behind me, trapping us and the steam inside.

Roza moved to the side to let my whole body under the spray. She placed her hands on my chest and spread the water across my skin. Despite the water's already scalding temperature, Roza's fingers felt like fire as they danced their way across my body.

"Shampoo then conditioner. While conditioner is setting, body." I said with a questioning gaze. She looked up at me with narrowed eyes but slowly nodded in agreeance. I reached behind her to grab her shampoo from the alcove in the wall. She placed a gentle kiss on my sternum when I moved closer to her.

I moved her from under the stream of water and squirted the wonderful smelling gel onto the top of her head. After placing the bottle back in its place, I worked the shampoo through her hair. She closed her eyes and released a moan.

She rested her forehead on my chest as I worked the suds all the way down her dark tresses. I could feel her breasts grazing my stomach as I fought to control my body and focus solely on her. I picked her up so she could wrap her legs around me and moved her under the water.

I couldn't tell if the moisture between her legs was from her excitement or the water, but either way, it was arousing. I supported her weight with one arm while the other worked the shampoo out of her hair.

Without opening her eyes, she reached behind me and grabbed the bottle of shampoo and dumped a little on my head. While I worked the suds out of her hair, she worked them into mine. I can see why she released a moan. Her fingers working in my hair, massaging my scalp, was erotic.

I loved having her body pressed against mine. She fit so perfectly. She was made for me. I was made for her.

"Turn." She commanded, and I obeyed. Now it was my turn to close my eyes as she guided the water through my hair. I hadn't even gotten to lather her body with soap yet, but this was already the best shower ever.

She untangled her legs from around my hips and pushed me against the wall behind me. I opened my eyes in pleasant surprise to look down into her mischievous eyes. Before I could ask or deduce her plan, she attached her lips to mine.

She pressed her body tightly against mine, the heat radiating off the two of us just adding to the steam in the shower.

"You don't mind if we skip the body wash, do you? I have a feeling we're just going to get dirty anyway." She breathed heavily running her hands down my stomach. I felt my muscles quiver under her touch as I fought with my mind to come up with a coherent answer.

"I was hoping you'd suggest that." Was the best I came up with.

"As long as we're on the same page." She said before bringing my lips back to hers. I lifted her again and turned the shower off. She opened the door behind her so I could step out with the two of us. She managed to open the door to the bedroom without breaking contact, and I practically threw her on the bed.

I had a flashback to last night and hesitated momentarily before she beckoned me with a crooked finger. I was in a trance, not one controlled by the Darkness, but one controlled by Roza. I was at her mercy as she was at mine. We both had control of the situation, neither one overpowering the other.

We were in harmony.

I crawled my way up the bed until I was hovering over her. She wrapped her legs around my hips and flipped us. I could now tell that the moisture between her legs was her excitement, but she quickly poised herself to where none of her body contacted mine.

She took my wrists in her hands and held them out to the side. Her lips came down to my neck, and her damp hair slid easily across my chest.

I felt my stomach knot and twist, and I stilled instantly. She pulled back and looked at me questioningly before her eyes went wide.

She was off of me and across the room in her closet in less than a second. She was pulling on shorts and a shirt and tossing me my shorts from earlier before I could process she had moved.

"Strigoi." She said quietly pulling out her swords from thin air. "That feeling you had just now, that's what it feels like when there are Strigoi nearby."

I'd pulled my shorts on and caught the sword she tossed to me. I followed her soundlessly into the hallway. As she crept toward the stairs, I checked our backs. I cleared the hall behind us while she cleared in front of us, and we moved to the next floor doing the same.

My steps were in time with hers, not even needing a glance to know what the other was doing. The second floor was clear so we moved to the first.

I could hear voices coming from the kitchen, and I knew Roza could too. She was the first to make eye contact with Pavel who was instantly alert as he took in our stance. Christopher, Kyle, and Jasper were the first Guardians to respond almost immediately after Pavel.

The sun was still shining outside so I didn't know where a Strigoi could have been, but I continued to follow Roza as the tightening in my stomach became almost unbearable. When Roza had said that she could feel with Strigoi were near, I didn't think she meant it like this.

We crept down to the basement, cognizant that there were only Alchemists down here and if Strigoi really were in the house, they'd be defenseless.

Roza quickly made her way to the gym, the only sounds being the footsteps of the Guardians following us. Roza and I were silent. I heard quiet chatter from, presumably, the Alchemists as we neared the gym. They didn't sound distressed so Roza relaxed her stance slightly at the same time I did.

When we entered the gym, Sydney's back was to us, but the other three Alchemist stared wide-eyed as a host of Guardians filtered into the room with weapons drawn.

"Sydney, are you okay?" Roza asked quickly and quietly. Jasper quickly made his way to her side, his eyes darting around the entire room.

"Yeah? Why?" She asked concerned. She eyed all of us wearily, like the other three Alchemists, but I think her weariness was due to the situation not our presence.

"I felt Strigoi," I said looking around, tensing when I saw a pale figure in the corner. It was still, unmoving, but it was a threat nonetheless.

"We're running the simulation, checking to make sure it works." One of the Alchemists informed us. "These are holograms."

"Holograms? So, they aren't real." I sighed.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Roza muttered stomping upstairs angrily. I guess I couldn't blame her.

Their simulation did ruin a wonderful moment for us.


	17. Chapter 17

I followed Roza up the stairs frustrated, both sexually and mentally. I didn't think that our sensitivity to Strigoi would transfer to holograms. I also didn't think that the Alchemists' simulation would be so realistic that it could set off our sensitive detection.

I heard slamming cabinets from the kitchen accompanied by so very angry muttering. Seems I'm not the only one who was frustrated.

"Roza?" I asked cautiously as I eased my way into the kitchen. Roza was busying herself with making something, but all she had out were ingredients so I couldn't tell what it was yet. It looked like some sort of bread.

"What?" She snapped or growled depending on how you looked at it. I raised one eyebrow and gave her a pointed look. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm hungry and frustrated."

"I can fix both of those things," I responded with a smile. She sighed and fought off a smirk before gesturing to the things she'd gathered.

"I wanted to make char sui bao, but we don't have char sui." She mumbled annoyed.

"You do know we aren't far from Chinatown where you can get char sui or already prepared bao." I pointed out. I'd never made bao, nor really had an idea of what it was.

"I realize that, but homemade bao is so much better." She said crossing her arms and throwing her nose up in the air. I bent down and kissed the tip of her nose, earning me a cute giggle from her.

"Of course, Roza." I simpered. "How about tomorrow we go to Chinatown and pick up what we need for char sui? We can make bao tonight?"

"If we make the dough tonight, it will rise too much to work with it tomorrow. If we're going to make the dough tonight, we're just going to have bao." She said looking down at the bag of flour.

"Then we have bao tonight," I said with a shrug. "Umm…what is bao?"

"You've never had bao?!" She exclaimed, and I raised an eyebrow. "Right, Russian. Bao is a Chinese sweet bread. It's very rare that you find a restaurant that sells bao or char sui bao because it's time-intensive, but while Lissa and I were on the run I got one owner of a restaurant to show me how to make it."

"We have Chinese food in Russia, you know, plus I lived in the U.S. for a few years. I've just never had bao, but what you're trying to tell me is that you just magically got the owner of a random restaurant to show you how to make bao?" I asked with my eyebrow still raised.

"Yep. Magic." She said with a large smile, and then I understood. Lissa. "Anyway. Char sui is a Chinese barbeque that fills a bao and it's the most amazing thing in the world!"

"Alright, do you want to show me how to make it?" I asked rubbing my hands together.

"Absolutely!" She said before beginning a search for something.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"A steamer." She stated. "And a large mixing bowl."

"I found the large mixing bowl, but I don't see a steamer," I called out easily locating a bowl.

"I found it." I heard her say before a large clattering of metal. I whipped around to see Roza sitting amongst a pile of pots and pans. "Whoops."

I busted out laughing as she shrugged her shoulders lifting the aforementioned steamer triumphantly. I helped her off the ground before filing the scattered cookware back into the cabinet they came from.

"Do you have everything we need?" I asked looking over at her surveying her ingredients.

"Yep. This is going to make a lot. The guy said his mother only taught him how to make large batches." She said gesturing to the five-pound bag of flour.

"My mother was the same way with black bread," I said nodding in understanding. "So, where do we begin?"

"Wash your hands first." She instructed doing the same.

"Yes, ma'am," I smirked, earning me a playful smack.

"Add the flour and two cups of sugar to the bowl. I'll mix the wet ingredients." She said pushing the bowl, flour, and sugar in my direction. She took out a smaller bowl adding water, vinegar, oil, and condensed milk.

I slowly added the flour into the large bowl, making sure it didn't fly everywhere, and carefully measured two cups of sugar.

"Do I mix it?" I asked. She nodded, barely sparing my bowl a glance as she tended to her own mixture.

"Now, make a divot in the middle so I can pour this in." She said holding her bowl and nodding to mine. I did as she asked holding the larger bowl steady as she carefully poured from hers. "You can slowly start folding in the dry."

I savored the feeling of the soft flour between my fingers. It felt lighter than black bread dough, but it was familiar nonetheless. She'd scraped the last of the wet ingredients from her bowl and placed it in the sink.

I kept mixing as she filled the bottom of the steamer with water and set it on the stove to boil. She came to stand beside me as I kneaded the dough.

"You've definitely made bread before." She said smiling up at me. "Your hands are much better suited for kneading than mine are."

"My hands are better suited for a lot of things," I said with a wink. She released a groan that caused my hands to pause in their task. She'd closed her eyes and leaned back against the counter.

My eyes traveled the length of her body. In our rush to locate Strigoi, she didn't put on any undergarments so the outline of her breasts was prominent. Her nipples tightened under her shirt the longer I stared. Her shorts revealed the underside of her ass making me want to sweep her away to where no one could possibly walk in and see her.

Her eyes flew open and a smirk spread across her face. I recognized the look of impending mischief from months of studying her at the academy, but I couldn't figure out what she was planning.

"You've dough to finish kneading." She said nodding at my flour-covered hands. I narrowed my gaze at her trying to determine what she was planning, but she turned on the balls of her feet, giving me a glorious view of her ass, and walked away.

"What are you planning, Roza?" I asked focusing back on the dough before me.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Comrade." She said innocently, turning to bat her eyelashes on me.

"Don't lie to me, Roza. That look on your face spells trouble, and if the past is any indication, that trouble is going to be for me." I said glancing over at her.

"Well, if you know it's coming, you shouldn't be too surprised when it happens." She said smiling. She hopped up on the counter beside the stove and swung her legs back and forth.

"So, you are planning something," I stated.

"I'm always planning something." She retorted. I released a sigh and finished kneading my dough.

"What now?"

"Now we form the bao and steam them." She smiled. "Bring me the bowl."

I brought the bowl over to her wiggling fingers, and she greedily took it from me and set it on the counter next to her. I spread her legs slightly so I could stand between them. I placed a light kiss on her forehead and watched as she pinched off a lemon-sized ball of dough.

She rolled the dough between her small hands and placed it on a small square of parchment paper.

"When and how did you cut those without me noticing?" I asked confused.

"Guardian secret." She responded saucily.

"I am a Guardian." I sighed.

"Then you should already know." She said giving me a toothy grin. I narrowed my eyes at her and huffed. I mimicked her process of rolling the dough between my hands.

We rolled in silence. She would occasionally squeeze her knees against my hips, which I would reward with a kiss to her forehead. I was surprised how many bao we made with the dough I'd mixed, but she had warned me that it made a lot.

"The most time-consuming part is steaming them. The owner had an industrial steamer that could steam dozens at a time, but this one will probably only be able to do a dozen at a time and it takes twenty minutes to steam each batch." Roza said placing the first round of bao in the steamer.

"What should we do with that time?" I asked with a smirk. I was still standing between her legs as she sat on the counter. It wasn't the best position for her to work in, but I wasn't going to move from my spot. I'd opened the steamer for her and handed her each bao so she could remain where she was.

"I don't know. Do you have any ideas?" She asked looking up at me through her lashes. I could spend my whole life getting lost in her eyes.

"I've got a few, but I'm not sure how much you're going to like them?" I answered.

"List a few of them, and I'll let you know." She said rolling her eyes. I leaned down and placed a light kiss on her lips.

"There's that one," I said pulling back. "Then this one." I pulled her lips to mine, using my tongue to pry her lips apart. She nipped my tongue as it invaded her mouth but allowed me to continue.

"Anything else?" She breathed against my lips.

"This." I murmured pulling her closer by the waist grinding my hips into hers. Her feet hooked around my back and her arms looped around my neck. While she tangled her fingers in my hair, I slid my hands under her shirt and began kneading her breasts.

Her nipples were hard under my palms and when I brushed my thumbs over them, she released a throaty moan. I attached my lips to her neck as not to obstruct her natural sounds as they fueled my desire for her.

"I'm not sure I'm liking any of these options." She moaned as I traced my tongue along her collarbone.

"Do you have something else in mind?" I asked working my way back up her neck.

"I'm sure I can think of something." She breathed running her hands down my chest coming to rest on the elastic band of my shorts. My need for her was on prominent display, the flimsy fabric of the gym shorts doing little to hid it.

She fingers slipped under the waistband, her nails scraping against my heated flesh causing me to shiver with desire. She pulled me closer taking one of my nipples into her mouth. She pulled her lips back and gently nipped at my skin eliciting a moan from me.

"Do you two plan on having sex on that counter or are you going to save it for the bedroom?" I heard Christopher growl from behind me. Roza peeked around me as I buried my face in her hair. She smelled like freshly picked peaches.

"We were probably going to start here and finish in bed," Roza smirked. I could feel the tension radiating off of the intruding Guardian. I looked over my shoulder at him, and he was glaring daggers in my back.

Roza chose that moment to dig her cold toes into my shorts. I released a sexually fueled hiss and hauled her off the counter. She giggled and squealed in a very girly manner as I moved quickly past Christopher and up the stairs.

"Do you think you could finish steaming the bao, Christopher? I'll be hungry soon!" Roza called out before I moved us out of earshot. I heard a growl from behind me but didn't stop to get a genuine answer.

"I'm not letting anything interrupt us," I growled locking the door behind us.

"I think I can live with that." She said walking backward toward the bed, and I stalked toward her. I felt almost predatory, but Roza had a fire dancing her eyes that let me know she was going to make it a challenge.

Without warning, Roza launched herself at me and knocked me to the ground. I quickly recovered and flipped us over trying to pin her down. Her elbow shot out and jabbed me in the side of the throat causing my vision to darken, giving her enough time to wriggle out from underneath me.

She kicked my right leg out from under me as I tried to rise sending me sprawling back to the floor. She straddled my back and placed her hands on my spine. I grabbed behind her left knee pulling her to the left as I rolled to the right. With my hand still behind her left knee, I grabbed behind her right knee and pulled her closer to me.

"You really making me work for it, Roza," I whispered against her soft skin. I gripped her wrist as she threw a punch at my ribs and pinned it above her head. Her eyes were still dancing with mischief.

I couldn't locate her other hand to effectively pin her beneath me, but I soon found it. Her delicate fingers danced lightly down my side causing my body to convulse and roll away from her touch.

"Are you ticklish, Comrade?" She said with a large smile.

"No," I said a little too quickly. Her smile grew and the fire burned brighter. "Shit."

"Language, Comrade." She chastised, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Is it just your sides or are you also ticklish on your feet or neck?"

"I'm not ticklish." I reinforced backing away from her slowly. She had her hands extended in front of her, her fingers wiggling in malicious intent.

"Really? You wouldn't mind me testing the validity of that statement, would you?" She asked with a smirk.

"You'll just have to trust me," I said eyeing her wearily. Seconds ago, I would have done anything to be near her, but I was hesitant now.

"Seeing is believing, Comrade." She said before lunging at me. I moved out of her reach quickly, jumping over the bed in the process. In my rush to escape her, though, I didn't notice I'd backed myself into a corner.

I looked at my escape options to either side of her, but I knew there was no way to get past her without enduring some sort of torture. My best bet was to pin her hands before she rendered me useless. I prepared myself to fight again, but she dropped onto the bed and looked up at me expectantly.

I was hesitant to let my guard down, but the fire in her eyes had died down, so I relaxed. She beckoned me with a crooked finger, and I happily complied. I settled my body over her, and she tangled her fingers into my hair tugging lightly.

"I love you, Roza," I whispered against her lips before closing the little distance between us. Her legs spread further allowing me to settle between her thighs. The battle of lips and teeth was evenly matched, but I should have known that Roza wouldn't give up that easily.

In my lust-fueled haze, I let my guard down. She swept her hands over my shoulders and down my sides. She rested her hands there letting me get used to her hands being there. Next thing I knew, she curled her fingers and began tickling me.

My body convulsed, and I began to try to push her away, but she'd locked her legs around my hips effectively keeping me in place.

"Roza, stop!" I screamed between my uncontrollable laughter. Her giggles were mixed with my heavy breathing. My sides clinched as I fought harder to escape her grasp. She released her grip, and I scrambled off the bed and tumbled to the ground breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" She asked in a fit of full-belly laughter.

"You're a little minx," I muttered trying to gain control of my lungs. My sides ached from her tickling and my lungs were burning with the lack of oxygen laughing caused me.

"You fell for it. You should have known I wouldn't give up that easily." She said crawling down the bed to peer over the edge at my sprawled figure.

"A man can dream," I mumbled looking up at her. Her face was flushed from the fighting and the laughter, and her hair was disheveled from the fighting. "You're beautiful."

A blush worked its way over her face at my whispered compliment. My breathing had slowed, but my heart rate increased at the thought that I could cause such a reaction in her.

"Are you avoiding sex?" I asked suddenly. Her eyes widened, and she paled.

"Why would you think that?" She asked evasively.

"I don't want to push you into anything you're not comfortable with, but you've been finding ways to get me worked up and then effectively killing the mood. The whole Strigoi thing wasn't your fault, but I can sense your hesitation. I just want to know why." I said sitting up and crossing my legs.

She mimicked my position on the bed and continued to stare wide-eyed. She released a sigh and smoothed down her tangled hair. She twirled the ends around her fingers while looking down at her lap. I waited patiently for her to explain.

"I can't deny my feelings for you, Dimitri." She began softly. "You're the only man that will ever have claim to my heart, the only man I will ever love, but I'm scared to let you that close again. I don't mean to string you along like this, but my body tells me I want it. When my mind catches up, I can't go through with it."

"Is it something I'm doing?" I asked after a moment of tense silence.

"No!" She exclaimed quickly, meeting my gaze. "No. It's not what you're doing, not necessarily. It's more like what you've done. The last time I allowed myself to get that comfortable with you – let my guard down like that – I ended up losing you the next day. I know it's irrational, but I can't help but think that if I allow myself the pleasure that I'm going to lose you again."

"Roza, you're not going to lose me," I promised quietly but powerfully.

"You said that the last time, too." She said with tears in her eyes.

"I did, and you didn't lose me. I'm right here in front of you. You won't let me leave. You brought me back, more than once. You're not going to lose me because you won't allow it to happen." I said taking her hands in mine. I gently wiped a tear from her cheek and pulled her down into my lap.

"I can't lose you, Dimitri." She said strongly. She pulled back and looked up at me. I could see the fierce determination that fueled her shining bright in her eyes.

"You're not going to lose me, Roza," I promised with the same fierceness. She brought her lips to mine with that same determination I'd seen seconds earlier. I lifted her in my arms and set her gently on the bed.

I settled myself between her luscious thighs and peeled her clothes from her body. Sparks danced across her skin as my fingers traced her curves. She was looking up at me with so much love I could almost see it shining in her eyes.

The longer I stared the more the light became visible. She was glowing. She pulled me back down to her before I could inquire about the light. She used her toes to pull my shorts from my body, and I wasted no time joining our bodies.

We both released a moan as I filled her.

"God, you feel perfect." She mumbled into my neck. I buried my face in her hair as I fought my natural instincts to just pound into her. She deserved better than that. She should be cherished. I will cherish her forever.

"I've missed your body. I feel complete when I'm inside you." I whispered pulling back to look down at her. Her hair was splayed across her pillows in an angelic manner. She eyes were bright with love for me, and her lips were pulled back in the most breathtaking smile I'd ever witnessed.

"I feel complete when you're inside me. I forgot just how much I missed you." She said reaching up to stroke my cheek. I closed my eyes and savored the moment until the movement of her hips started breaking my self-control.

"Roza," I growled pushing my weight, and my cock, further into her trying to still her motion. She released moan that made my cock twitch which only provided me with less self-control and a smirking Roza.

"Come on, Comrade. Lose control." She purred in my ear. Her teeth nipped at my earlobe and pulled it gently. Her breath tickled my ears causing me to shudder. Her nails scrapped down my back before pushing into my hips trying to get them to move.

I allowed myself a little movement, but it was controlled. With each slow thrust I provided her, she gave me a moan that chipped away at my self-control. The remaining strands were severed quickly when she whispered in my ear:

"Fuck me, Comrade."

I released a groan and pulled out to my tip before slamming back into her. It was the first breath of relief, the moment my eyes saw clearly, my chance for clarity. She screamed out in pleasure as I repeated my action as swiftly as possible.

I captured her lips with mine as she tore my back to shreds with her nails, but I didn't mind one bit. From this moment on, I was hers, and she was mine. I could feel a deep connection forming in the pit of my stomach. My life would be tied to hers, and hers to mine.

Her screams became higher in pitch as my thrusts became more frantic, more desperate. I needed her, all of her, and I could feel her fighting it trying to make this moment last. The moment before we both fell apart will be one burned into my mind for eons.

"I love you." We both whispered smiling blissfully at each other, knowing that we were seconds away from giving each other what we truly needed to live in harmony. Sex was never just sex for me, and I doubt it was that was for Roza either, but this sex sealed a promise.

Our promise.

Our promise to each other, and it said exactly that, "I love you."


	18. Chapter 18

Waking up with Roza in my arms was magical. She fit so perfectly against my body. Her heart beat in time with mine. She moved when I moved and breathed when I breathed.

I felt something shift as I made love to her, but I didn't know if she felt it too. It was like we joined souls, almost like we became the same being. I could feel everything she was feeling like I was feeling it myself.

I could sense she was just waking up, like myself, and she made adorable noises when she stretched. Her arms came above her head, and the blankets pulled away from her bust, leaving her voluptuous breasts on full display for my own personal perusing.

"Are you as hungry as I am?" She asked in a groggy voice collapsing back onto my chest.

I laughed, about to tell her no one could be as hungry as her when my stomach growled uncomfortably loud. Usually, it was her stomach to make the noise, but I could feel myself growing as hungry as she probably was.

"I'm going to take that as a yes." She laughed before rolling out of bed. She swayed at the sudden change of altitude, and I steadied her with a hand to her waist. "I got it. I stood up too fast."

"I could see that." I chuckled swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I pulled her back into my lap and kissed her neck, holding on tighter when she tried to remove herself from my grasp.

"Food now, sex later, Comrade." She moaned trying to continue her struggle. I sighed against her skin and released her. My eyes swept over her curves as she bent down to pick up a shirt that looked suspiciously similar to one that I had back at the academy.

"Is that my shirt?" I asked as she pulled it over her head.

"It was. It's mine now." She smirked brushing out her tangled hair with her fingers. "I took it after you were taken. It was a little piece of you to keep with me."

I felt the sadness growing inside her, and her eyes started clouding over with haunting memories. I quickly moved in front of her and tilted her chin up to look at me. Her eyes gained focused as the skin where my fingers touched glowed brightly. There weren't sparks this time, and the light wasn't yellow or purple, it was white.

"I'm right here, Roza," I whispered brushing the remaining hair out of her face, smoothing it down with my large hand. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

"Thank you, Dimitri." She said with a heartwarming smile. Her hands came up and took my hand away from her face but held it close to her. Where her fingers touched me, the same white light glowed on my skin.

"Food," I said a split second before her stomach growled. She laughed at the timing before dragging me out of the room by the hand she still had a grip on. She was extremely confused when I pulled her to a stop.

She looked back at me with a questioning look, and I responded by gesturing to my still naked body.

"Do you want me to put clothes on or not?" I asked with a smirk.

"Well, the only other female in the house is Sydney, and I'm pretty sure she only has eyes for Jasper right now, so it's really up to you." She said running her eyes over my body. Her eyes lingered on my manhood which caused it to twitch under her scrutiny.

"I'm going to at least put on some pants," I said breaking her out of her lust-filled gaze. I was comfortable with my body, but I really didn't want to strut around the house, made completely out of glass, while her father and, for all intense and purposes, uncle were living here, not to mention her adoptive brothers. I had a feeling I might lose a limb or something slightly more important.

"Fine." She sighed opening the door and checked the hallway before shooing me down to my room. I could feel her eyes watching my naked form as I crept down the hallway, and my suspicions were confirmed when I looked back at her upon reaching my doorway.

She gave me another shooing motion with her hand before folding her arms across her chest and leaning against the wall. I quickly located a pair of sweatpants that I knew sat high enough to be modest but hung low enough to tease Roza endlessly. I skipped the shirt.

I emerged from my room just as Roza's stomach gave another loud complaint. She pushed away from the wall without looking at me but motioned for me to follow her downstairs. My shirt hung loosely on her frame, but it still somehow made every curve stand out and her legs look endless.

Before her foot could land safely on the ground floor, I swept her into my arms. Her giggle spread throughout the open space causing heads to turn in amazement. I suppose they'd all heard Roza laugh, but they'd never heard her giggle. Something about Roza didn't scream giggles, but I knew how to coax one out of her.

I threw her over my shoulder, gripping the back of her knees to keep her from tumbling head-first to the floor. She beat softly on my back, mumbling a quiet protest but remained where she was.

"This is a pleasant view, Comrade." She laughed before slapping my ass. I returned the favor eliciting a yelp from her. I could smell some sort of food, and I assumed it was the completed bao. The moan from Roza also led me to that conclusion. "Put me down! I'm hungry!"

"Yes, I can feel that." I chuckled setting her on the stool at the breakfast bar. She immediately started to get up and head toward food, but I pushed her back while giving her a firm look, "Sit."

"Yes, sir." She sighed tapping her finger against the countertop impatiently.

I approached the white bread with a little more hesitancy than was strictly necessary and grabbed about a dozen to pile on a plate. I placed the plate in front of Roza, but before she could grab one, I lifted her and placed myself in her spot on the stool and her on my lap.

She spared the time to turn her head and give me a gentle kiss before snatching a bao and all but shoved it in her mouth. The satisfied moan she released traveled through her body and vibrated through me. She picked up the next one and held it for me to take a bite.

My teeth sank into the soft bread as my thumbs rubbed gentle circles on her hips. The bao was more dense than other breads, but it was far sweeter and fluffier than I was expecting. It wasn't the black bread I was used to, but it was just as good.

"That's good," I mumbled taking the rest in my mouth so she could grab another for herself. She was rocking side to side in my lap, munching happily while humming to some unknown tune, but her movement was sending my body into a frenzy.

I gripped her hips tightly to keep her from moving. She stopped in the middle of her chewing, halting her song in the process. Though I couldn't see her face completely, I saw her eyes flash in victory. I released a sigh and rested my forehead on the curve of her neck. After a moment's pause, she continued chewing and humming, but my hands kept her from moving.

"Why must you torment me?" I sighed pressing my lips to her neck. She tilted her head slightly, giving me better access to her flawless skin.

"Would you love me if I didn't?" She asked saucily.

"Probably not as much as I do currently," I stated kissing her cheek and reaching for another bao. I could feel eyes on me but when I turned all the Guardians were seemingly focused on whatever task they were engaged in. It was amusing to see a few of them 'reading' magazines while they were upside down.

"I think we're attracting an audience, Comrade," Roza said not looking in the direction of the Guardians.

"I think it's mostly you. You did say earlier that you're pretty much the only female in the house, and you looking as beautiful as you do now probably isn't helping the room full of males. I know it's not helping me." I said looking down at where she rested comfortably in my lap.

"I suppose you'll just have to stake your claim publicly, though I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to go after the boss's daughter." She said, amusement sparkling in her eyes.

"Did you just call me stupid?" I asked placing a hand on my chest in mock offense knowing that I was the stupid one going after the boss's daughter. To be fair, though, I didn't know she was his daughter when I first started going after her, nor was he my boss at the time.

"If the shoe fits…" She responded with a large smile.

"It probably doesn't. I'll have you know that I happen to have large feet." I responded indignantly while raising my nose slightly.

"A fact I am very much aware of." She mumbled before hopping off my lap. I felt her absence immediately and reached out to pull her back, but she moved further away from me.

"I think I'm going to go for a swim, Comrade." She said with a smirk sauntering out of the kitchen and toward the back door. It did not escape my attention that she didn't have a swimsuit on under the shirt she was wearing, and I'm absolutely certain that it didn't escape the other Guardians' attentions either.

I saw a few of them start to get up, most likely in an attempt to follow her, but after a murderous look from me and a harsh "Sit" from Pavel, none of them followed through with their intentions.

Pavel eyed me carefully before giving me a nod and a pleased expression. At least I had a blessing from one important figure in Roza's life.

"Don't make me regret this, Belikov." He said as he passed me heading to the stairs. His tone was light and friendly, but his message was clear, and I knew I wouldn't have to worry about Abe finding me if I hurt Roza; Pavel was the one to watch out for, but I wasn't going to hurt my Roza, not again.

When the cool lapping sensation of water washed over my feet, I quickly followed Roza. I felt my breath catch in the back of my throat as I saw Roza's naked form wading into the water. The sun was disappearing behind the horizon, but there was more than enough light for me to see by.

The last golden rays of the sun gave her a golden glow as her magnificent body disappeared beneath the gentle tide. I heard footsteps behind me and watched in amazement as the black tendrils of Darkness seeped out of Roza to cover her completely from intruding eyes.

I turned my narrow gaze to whoever was approaching but immediately softened the gaze as I saw Sydney. She didn't even look at me, just out to where Roza was diving into the deeper water, her veil of Darkness still protecting her modesty.

"She's truly spectacular, you know? When I first met her in Russia, I thought she was just like any other Dhampir I'd ever dealt with, but she had no idea about who we were so she had no prejudice. She was interested in learning more about us, but she never pushed me for more information than I was willing to give. She never once treated me as anything less than a human being." Sydney explained, her voice was soft and kind as she spoke fondly of Roza.

"I can't, however, say the same for myself. I thought you were all the same. All evil with no soul. The only distinction I could make was that Strigoi killed whoever they were feeding on while Moroi didn't. Dhampirs were nothing more than a cruel joke, definitely not something that God could ever create, but then I got to know her."

"She tends to have the ability to make us into completely different people." I smiled as Roza surfaced again. She brushed her hair out of her face and relaxed back into the water.

"She's a gift, Dimitri," Sydney said turning her eyes to me. "I received my first impression of you through her in Russia. She spoke so highly of you, but when I arrived last week, she was a completely different person. She flinched at the mere mention of your name. I don't think you're a bad guy, just a guy that made bad decisions. I can see how much you love her and how much she loves you, just don't screw it up. I'd hate to have to accidentally kill you."

With that, she left me stunned on the beach, my mouth agape as she strolled casually back to the house. I didn't even have the opportunity to tell her that I'd never hurt Roza again.

Before I had the chance to call out to Sydney, Roza's voice glided along the breeze and wrapped around me. She was beckoning me to join her, that the water felt just right, but she needed me to keep her warm.

All thoughts other than Roza left my mind as I floated down to the water's edge. I took a moment to rid myself of my pants before making my way out to Roza. The black tendrils that had kept her hidden from me moved away from her body and out toward me, pulling me closer to her while giving me full access to her body.

Unlike before, her Darkness came closer to me, I could see my skin lighting up as the tendrils danced delicately around my body. I felt myself reacting to her in a way I didn't expect, but I let my body take control.

We watched stunned as white tendrils that matched her black ones oozed out of me, tangling themselves with hers as they worked in tandem to pull us closer together. I suppose even our bodies knew we belong together.

"Excuse you, sir, but could you keep your tentacles to yourself?" Roza teased wrapping her arms around my neck. I could feel the feather-light caresses of her Darkness over my back as she hooked her legs around my hips.

"Excuse me? Excuse me!? It was your tentacles that elicited my tentacles in the first place. If anyone needs to learn how to control themselves, it would be you." I teased back, placing my hands under her thighs to keep her in place.

"Control? I've got myself under control. You've got some work to do, though." She laughed bringing her lips to my neck. I wasn't sure if she was referring to my Light and the tentacles or to my growing erection, either way, I wasn't sure I wanted to get myself under control.

I cloaked us in my Light to keep curious eyes off my Roza. She shivered as the Light wrapped smoothly around her back, bringing her even closer to me.

"Why is yours so much prettier than mine?" She mumbled against my neck. "I'm just stuck with this black mass. Mine's just scary. Yours could be scary too, but yours is more amazing than anything."

"Roza, I don't think you know exactly what you look like when the Darkness is billowing out of you. Yes, yours is black and scary, but it's so beautiful. That's what you are: beautiful. Trust me when I say that your Darkness is just as amazing as you are, more amazing than me and mine." I implored tilting her head back to look at me.

Her deep brown eyes were dancing with love as she stared up at me. Her lips sought mine as the cloak around us swirled in black and white. Her Darkness danced with my Light with the same liveliness that our tongues did.

She pulled back with a mischievous look on her face. I narrowed my eyes trying to determine her plan but was distracted when she unwrapped her legs from around my hips. She hooked a foot around the back of my left leg and pulled forward.

I fell to my knee in surprise, but when you're standing in chest-deep water, falling to your knee puts you under said water. I heard her melodic laughter before my head was fully submerged. I managed to suck in a breath as her hands pushed my shoulders further down.

My hands gripped her thighs and pulled her closer to me. She tried to get away from me, but my grip was strong and her body too perfect to let go. My lips were on her stomach in an instant. I felt her muscles contract as she laughed. While she was distracted, I lifted her easily out of the water and threw her back in.

I kept her wrapped in my Light which drew her back to me, though she was a little more irate than when I'd last had her in my arms. Before she could release her venom upon me, though, I captured her lips with mine silencing any remark with my tongue.

She made a slight sound of protest before sinking into the kiss. Her lips were salty from the water yet her tongue was sweet. She wove her fingers in my hair and deepened the kiss.

"Do you think you'd be up to learning swordplay?" She asked breathlessly pulling away from my lips.

"As long as I get to play with you," I said with a wink.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." She smiled wrapping her legs back around my hips. She wrapped a blanket of Darkness around us as I carried her back to the house. Christopher finally wore a somewhat pleased expression as we passed him on the way up the stairs.

I placed her in front of her door, gave her a quick kiss before moving down the hall to my room to get dressed. Without Roza's Darkness giving me covering, I used my own Light to cover myself. I heard a contented sigh from Roza that matched my inner happiness as I entered my room.

I decided to stick to our usual workout gear and quickly donned a pair of shorts over my boxers. I exited my room in time to see Roza pulling her long locks back into a ponytail. She'd adorned herself with shorts far shorter than mine, not that I had any objections, and a sports bra that somehow still made her chest seem much more pronounced.

She jumped on my back as I started down the stairs. Her thighs tightened on my hips as I placed my hands around the backs of her knees to keep her in place.

"Christopher, Jasper, Kyle! Dimitri and I are going to play with swords if you want to join us." Roza called out as we were passing through the living room.

"I bet you played with his sword…I'd definitely let you play with mine…" I heard a Guardian mumble. Before I knew what was happening, a tendril of Light shot out and picked the Guardian up. I'd unknowingly released my hold on Roza, and she was trying to calm me.

I stalked toward the Guardian with an amount of rage I hadn't felt since seeing that Zeklos kid on top of my Roza.

"Would you like to repeat that for everyone to hear?" I growled as the Light pinned the Guardian against a wall a few feet above the ground. He looked terrified as he tried to fight off the Light, but his hands when right through it.

"Dimitri." I heard Roza protest. I felt her place a hand on my chest and a calm spread through me so quickly I stumbled slightly. I looked down into the eyes of my Roza. I saw love and awe, not an ounce of hesitancy or fear.

Her Darkness wrapped itself around my Light and pulled it back to us. The Guardian fell to the ground with a loud thud, but I paid him no mind. Roza was all that mattered. Her smile brought me back to the present moment as Kyle was helping the Guardian off the ground.

The Guardian looked thankful for the help, but his look quickly turned to apprehension when he noticed me looking at him.

"What's your name?" I asked him, holding tightly to Roza.

"Shaw, sir. Clayton Shaw." He answered in a shaky voice.

"Well, Guardian Shaw. I suggest you keep your comments to yourself, lest you have to deal with myself or my boyfriend." Roza quipped pleasantly. She didn't allow me to say anything as she pulled me from the room by the hand, though I didn't miss the fear that flashed in his eyes at Roza's smile.

I knew that smile well. It did not bode well for anyone when she started using that smile.

"Boyfriend, huh?" I smirked as Roza pulled me down the stairs. I could hear Jasper and Christopher following us, but I assumed Kyle would stay back and have a chat with Guardian Shaw.

"Unless you prefer the term 'lover.'" She chuckled.

"Nah, I think I'll stick with boyfriend. So, does that make you my girlfriend?" I asked wanting to define what exactly we were.

"No. That makes me the goddess you worship." She said dramatically standing proudly with her hands on her hips.

"Don't we all?" Christopher commented causing my Light to come out once again. Before I could reach Christopher, however, Roza stopped me. Her Darkness forced me to change directions and focus on her.

"How am I supposed to fight if I keep getting distracted by you?" I grumbled pulling her toward me.

"Well, that's what we're here to practice."


	19. Chapter 19

My back hit the mat for the fifth time in the past hour, and I released a groan. Roza moved to stand over me with an amused expression. She sent out a tendril to help me up but kept her hands firmly planted on her hips.

I stood and prepared myself for the next attack. She rolled her eyes and crouched lower. She raised her loosely fisted hands and beckoned me forward. My moment of hesitation caused her to smile, which caused me to be distracted, which caused her to attack first, which ended up with me on my back once again.

"What distracted you that time?" She asked shaking her head. I could feel her agitation growing, but it wasn't directly aimed toward me. Sure, she was frustrated that I couldn't concentrate, but she was also concerned about what this meant for us hunting as a team. If I couldn't focus long enough to kill or interrogate Strigoi, I was of no use to her in the field.

"It was your smile," I answered rubbing the back of my neck. The first two times it had been the sway of her hips when she moved, the next was the way her hair swayed, then it was how she pulled her sword out of her back scabbard.

"Is there anything I do that isn't distracting to you?" She asked throwing her hands up in defeat and walking to the other side of the mat to start again.

"No," I responded with a firm shake of the head. "Are you saying that you never get distracted by me?"

"I do, but you usually get distracted first." She laughed. "Believe it or not, but my focus is better than yours. You just need to learn to not be distracted."

"There's no way I'm going to be able to fight you without getting distracted." I sighed.

"Maybe we're doing this wrong." She mumbled looking toward the extremely entertained Guardians on the sidelines. The smiles they wore slowly faded into worried expressions as Roza's face grew more mischievous. "You'll never be fighting me, so you don't need to practice that way."

"What do you mean, Roza?" I asked getting a little worried on the Guardians' behalf.

"Think about it, Comrade. There's no situation, other than practice, that we'll be fighting each other. In any real situation, you'll be fighting alongside me, protecting me. We need to practice the way we fight, right? So, we either run the simulations or have these three attack us." Roza said with a large smile.

"I think we'd all prefer it if you ran through the simulations and didn't use us as punching bags," Christopher said looking toward the other Guardians for solidarity, and he found it.

"Won't I still be distracted by you either way?" I asked allowing my eyes to trace her every feature and ignoring Christopher's comment.

"Probably, but you'll be less distracted because you'll be focused on protecting me. I know you'll never let anything bad happen to me, so you won't allow yourself to be distracted by me because you'll be focused on keeping me safe." She responded with her still radiant smile. "If it helps, I'll stand on the sidelines until you feel comfortable enough not to get distracted. Or I'll not fight and feign unconsciousness instead."

"I'd rather you feign unconsciousness if you don't mind. There'd never be a situation where I wasn't directly beside you if there were Strigoi around." I responded, looking up at the devices that would deliver the projections.

"This will also get us both used to the feeling of Strigoi when fighting," Roza said sheathing both of her swords and sitting on the ground behind me. "Do you want me to just sit here or would you rather I play the part?"

"I'd like you to play the part but keep your eyes open. I want feedback on my performance." I said sheathing my own swords with a smile.

Roza had picked for me blades that matched her own, though mine were a little heavier due to their adjusted length. When Christopher complained about not being able to have a hip scabbard Roza explained that my duster would conceal it so unless he also wanted to wear a duster he'd have to be satisfied with a back scabbard.

"I'm always happy to give you feedback on your performance," Roza said with a wink.

"Name a difficulty level, dude," Jasper said from his place at the control station. While none of the ten levels were exactly easy, the harder levels had you deal with more Strigoi for longer while the easier levels gave out one or two Strigoi at a time for about five minutes.

"Let's start at level five. If it's too difficult we'll go down a level, if it isn't difficult enough, we'll work our way up to ten." I said rolling my shoulders back and focusing my mind.

I looked behind me at Roza lying on the ground. Her eyes were open wide, staring at me unblinkingly, almost like she was dead. I had a split moment of panic as my dream rushed back to me, but Roza's look of concern brought me back to the present moment.

I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile and waited for Jasper to start the simulation.

The sudden nauseous feeling caused me to double over in pain as the first four Strigoi appeared on the edges of the simulation ring. They all appeared to be previous Dhampir and, from the way they were standing, Guardian trained. Two of them leaned out slightly to look around me, I could only assume they were looking at Roza.

The smile that crept across their faces told me my answer, and suddenly I didn't feel pain anymore. I couldn't afford to feel pain. Roza needed me to protect her.

I poised my left hand behind my head, ready to unsheathe the Khopesh when needed, and used my right hand to draw my scimitar. The scraping of metal caught their attention and turned their focus on me instead. The hungry look in their eyes was replaced with amusement which only served to fuel my anger.

I felt the tendrils of Light seeped out of me, and it caused a brief moment of hesitation on the Strigoi's part. I couldn't go to them, they had to come to me. If I moved from my position over Roza, she would be left vulnerable, and I couldn't have that.

Two of the Strigoi started in on me, but they were cautious. They eyed my swords wearily, but they didn't deter them from attacking. One was approaching me from either side though my Light kept them at bay long enough to pull my Khopesh.

I blocked the arm of one Strigoi with the flat side of my scimitar while bringing my Khopesh down on the back on his neck. The pain in my stomach lessened slightly as the severed head rolled away and disappeared.

The momentary distraction allowed the other Strigoi to get closer to Roza. My rage built as the pale figure moved to stand over Roza. For her part, Roza stayed laying there motionless, wide-eyed, as the Strigoi bent down to her.

She trusted me to protect her, and I would. I will.

Before the undead creature could lay a finger on my Roza, I leapt over them both, hooking my Khopesh into the creature's ribcage. Using my momentum, I flung the creature into the two that had yet to join the fight and landed softly in front of Roza.

I turned my head slightly to see that she was okay and from the wink she gave me, she was perfectly fine. I couldn't help but roll my eyes as I turned back to the three Strigoi that were righting themselves.

All three charged me at once. My scimitar wove through the air, severing the dominant hand of each Strigoi as they all slung a fist at me. There were hisses and a scream of protest that gave me enough time to behead all three in rapid succession.

Before the pain fully subsided from my stomach, five more Strigoi appeared, renewing the knots in my stomach once again as the bodies of the other three dissipated. These new Strigoi seemed younger than the first which showed when they kept their eyes on Roza instead of me. Her body was in between me and my targets, but their focus was on her.

I could see the hunger and lust clearly in their eyes which only served to fuel my protective nature. My Light burst out of me as I abandoned my training and leapt toward the five Strigoi. I barely heard the thud of their heads as they hit the floor before I was checking to make sure that Roza was alright.

My eyes feel on Roza and the most luring sight any man could ever ask for.

Roza was sitting up, her hair twirling in an unseen wind. Her Darkness was flowing out of her, and it spread across the floor reaching toward me. Her eyes were dark with lust and her voice was calling out to me.

"That was hot, Comrade." She purred as I crawled my way back to her. My desire for her burned brighter than my Light. It was almost enough to miss the feeling of more Strigoi, but her dark look, that wasn't lust, was enough for me to send out my Light to the surrounding Strigoi, piercing them wherever I could.

I didn't know if it would kill them or not, but I needed to try. I could still feel them struggling when Roza's expression turned annoyed. She turned her eyes toward the nearest Strigoi and sent out her Darkness.

Her black tentacle spiraled down mine and sank into the Strigoi that waited rather impatiently on the other end of it. This particular Strigoi let out a scream that would put any soprano to shame.

My eyes widened as I saw the undead life drain from his eyes. Our tangled tentacles retreated back into us but not before drawing us nearer to each other. The simulation halted suddenly and the remaining Strigoi froze in place.

I pulled Roza closer to me, placing my hands on the small of her back.

"Should we let you guys have the room or do you want to head upstairs instead?" Kyle said from his place by Jasper at the control console.

"I think we need to finish the simulation, together," Roza said looking me dead in the eyes. Her hair was still twirling in the unknown wind, but her eyes had calmed.

"Are you sure?" Jasper asked hesitantly.

"We're sure," I replied for the both of us. I rose to my feet first before bringing Roza up with me.

"Do we even need swords right now?" She asked smirking. Her Darkness swirled up to tangle itself in my hair. She used it to pull the strands out of my face while using her hands to gently caress my cheek. The Darkness suddenly left my hair, tugging gently as it went, and was sent out to the remaining Strigoi. Roza's hands fell to a clasped position around the back of my neck.

She looked up at me expectantly. I'm sure if she could raise an eyebrow she would. I granted her wish and smirked when my Light caused a shiver to run through her. Before Jasper and Kyle had the chance to start the simulation again, my Light caused the Strigoi's frozen bodies to dissipate completely.

"Alright…well…I think you two need a harder level." Christopher said finally breaking the silence the three Guardians had fallen into. Unfortunately, his voice also broke the heated gaze Roza and I had been trapped in.

"I think that we need to learn how to fight together," I said pulling Roza closer to me.

"I think we know how to fight together perfectly." She laughed throwing her head back, exposing her throat to me. I couldn't restrain myself for long before I had to satisfy my lips' need to be on her skin.

"I know we know how to fight together, Roza, we definitely know how to kill together, but what about the interrogations? We can hold them if only one of us touches them, but for how long and how many?" I said still tracing my lips across her neck.

"Kyle, is there a way to specify how old and how many Strigoi appear in the simulation?" Roza asked submitting herself to my kisses.

"I can definitely do the specific number of Strigoi, but the Alchemists don't have a very comprehensive file of well-aged Strigoi. Most of the Strigoi that Alchemists ever gain access to are young and less intelligent. There aren't any simulated ancients." Kyle replied looking through all the settings.

"Is it possible to add more Strigoi into the simulation as needed?" I asked finally tearing my lips away from Roza.

"Absolutely," Kyle said with a smile.

"Well then, let's start with six and we'll go from there," I said looking over to Jasper with a nod. "Do you want to go first or would you rather it me?"

"I wanna try first," Roza said with a large smile. She pulled back from me but stayed within my arms.

Her hands were placed on my chest, the nails that dug into my chest held me upright as the twisting pain in my stomach returned.

"I had no idea that your pain was this bad when Strigoi were around." I ground out through my clenched teeth.

"It's not too back. You'll get used to it." She said with a pained smile on her face. Her eyes then focused as she sent out her Darkness.

The thin tendrils penetrated the Strigoi bodies with ease and held them in place at the edges of the simulation ring. She focused her eyes on my sternum and the timer to know how long she could keep the Strigoi in place began.

I tried not to distract her, but we had an ability to distract the other even without trying. She made it ten minutes before she eyes became more focused on my chest and less on keeping the Strigoi in place. Her hands started to move across my skin in a mesmerized manner, and the Strigoi, sensing her distraction, started struggling harder on the tendrils.

"Alright, Roza. I think it's my turn." I chuckled trying to keep her from completely distracting me. "Release them and I'll take over."

Roza released what sounded like a grateful sigh and pulled her Darkness back into herself. As soon as the Darkness retracted from their bodies, the Strigoi started their charge toward us, but I halted them with my Light.

I could have sworn that I saw a couple of them roll their eyes as their struggle to escape me began. I decided to close my eye to elude the distracting nature of Roza. Sadly, well, not really, she kept her hands on my chest and was content with continuing running her hands over my bare chest.

Desperate to beat Roza's time of ten minutes, I gripped her wrists to still her hands.

"Sorry." She mumbled not sounding the least bit sorry but consented to me holding her hands still. I could feel Roza's impatience growing as more time went by. Her sigh signaled the ten-minute mark, and her forehead hit my chest.

I chuckled and waited a few more minutes before releasing to from my Light. I spun Roza around, doing the same myself, and we prepared to fight back-to-back. Even though we were battling six different Strigoi, we still managed to move as one. We knew we wanted to fight without killing so we kept our tendrils to ourselves.

One Strigoi managed to rake its claw across my forearm, but instead of me grunting in pain, Roza cried out. I quickly pushed the Strigoi around us away with my Light and turned to attend to my Roza.

She was clutching her arm, the blood peaking around her hand. The scrap was in the exact place my Strigoi had clawed at me.

"What happened, Roza?" I asked quickly pushing the Strigoi even further from us.

"I don't know. I didn't think that any of them touched me." She said peeling her hand away from her arm. The cuts were slowly sealing themselves shut and her pain was subsiding.

"Maybe not you, but one of mine got a pretty good hit in on my forearm," I said inspecting both her arm and mine. Her arm was healed, the blood surrounding her previous wound being the only evidence that she'd gotten hurt. My arm didn't have any evidence of being scratched at all. I expected my arm to have a gash, as hers did, and the blood that would have accompanied it, but nothing was there.

"Then why don't you have anything to show for it?" She asked confused, taking my arm in her hands to expect it for herself.

"I don't know, but you seemed to have been on the receiving end of my mistake." I chuckled looking toward the Strigoi that had unfortunately gotten a hit on me.

"When one gets hurt, the other gets hurt." She mumbled while sending out her Darkness to the still halted Strigoi. As soon as the Strigoi had dissipated, and the pain along with them, I pulled Roza to her feet and toward the nearest bathroom.

I grabbed a washcloth and began wiping the blood from her arm.

"Are you okay?" I asked, wringing out the washcloth.

"I'm fine, Comrade. We just have to be careful. When one of us gets hurt, the other gets hurt. We share our emotions and our soul, we must share our pain as well."

"And your wound healing?" I asked raising a brow.

"That's happened before. I think it's a side effect of the Darkness. I don't know if you'll have the same benefit with the Light, but my wounds heal quickly, leaving only the blood as evidence." Roza replied.

"So, you get the benefits of Spirit without driving yourself mad in the process."

"Pretty much." She said with a shrug. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling good, a little tired, but I think that's more because of exhaustion," I replied.

"Do you need food, water?" She asked before looking up at me through her eyelashes. "Sex?"

"A definite yes to the first two, but I'll have to think about the third," I said mock seriously.

"I suppose I'll just have to get someone else to satisfy my need then." She said turning to exit the bathroom. I quickly turned her back around to pushed her up against the nearest wall.

"You wouldn't dare," I growled into her ear.

"I don't know, Comrade. How else am I going to fuel my magic?" She said with a challenging stare.

"Fuel your magic?" I asked.

"Yeah. Moroi feed on blood to give them strength. I feed on emotions, most of them being strong and passionate like anger and sadness. I'm sure that your magic is fueled by something, too, but I don't know what it is. We'll need to figure that out so you can refuel when you get too tired."

"How do you feed?"

"You've felt me feed. I pull the mostly negative emotions from you. I've only ever done it with negative emotions. I haven't tried to feed off of positive emotions, but that doesn't feel right to me." She said tangling her fingers in my hair.

"I don't think I'll be one to feed off of negative emotions," I said pulling her away from the wall and walking her backward out of the bathroom and back into the gym.

Kyle, Jasper, and Christopher were bent over the control console fiddling with the settings. I heard more Guardians coming down the stairs, but they paused when they saw Roza and me near the entrance.

Roza released a sigh and beckoned them inside the gym. They hesitantly stepped forward, Pavel was the last inside and smiled at us in amusement.

"I don't know who they're more afraid of, Dimitri or you, Rose," Pavel said with a chuckle.

"After the display upstairs, I'm thinking that they're more scared of Dimitri," Roza said trying to hold her laughter back.

"No doubt. Do you guys need help with anything down here or could you possibly provide feedback on the men's performance? I want to run them through the simulations, but I won't be able to catch everything." Pavel said gesturing to the group of Guardians stretching and warming up around the gym.

Kyle, Jasper, and Christopher were still fiddling with the control console, too engrossed to really notice what was going on.

"I'm fine with watching as long as I get some food first," Roza said before looking up at me for confirmation.

"Yeah, as long as I get this one fed we'll be perfectly fine," I said sagely, earning a light slap from Roza. She huffed before starting up the stairs.

"She looks happy, Belikov," Pavel said with a smile on his face, looking up the stairs after Roza. "As long as she stays that way."

"I can honestly say that if she's not happy, I won't be happy," I said before following Roza up to the kitchen. She was rifling through the fridge with a bao in her mouth. "You need protein."

"I know." She sighed pulling out a package of bacon. "I found some!"

"That's more fat than protein…" I mumbled but let her continue.

If she was happy, I was happy.


	20. Chapter 20

"That wasn't horrible," Roza said with an expression that hinted it might have been slightly horrible.

"You don't have to sugarcoat it, sweetheart," Luca said with a laugh. "I'm pretty sure that we all know that was horrible."

"First, don't call me sweetheart," Roza growled. "Second, I only said it wasn't horrible because it wasn't as bad as the first time."

"Only because it was a lower level on the simulation," Aidan called out.

"I think we'd have a better idea of what we were doing if we had someone show us what it should have been like," Peter said eyeing Roza and me hopefully.

I looked over at Roza with a shrug letting her know I was okay with it if she was. She narrowed her eyes at Luca and Peter. The longer she glared at them, the wider their smiles grew. I suppose they knew her decision.

"Fine." She huffed.

"No magical powers," Clayton said timidly taking a step away from me as he said it. I tried to keep the sneer off my face, but I don't think it worked.

"We'll try our best." I retorted sharply.

"Play nice, Comrade," Roza said sweetly pulling me to her. She brought my face down to hers in a passionate kiss. Her tongue slipped into my mouth as I brought her body closer to mine.

We both released a moan as she pulled away. I tried to chase her lips, but she pushed me away with a giggle. She pulled a stake out of thin air and handed it to me as another one materialized.

"How did you do that?" I asked breathlessly.

"I have stakes hidden everywhere." She said with a wink before walking to the center of the simulation ring. "I'll go first."

The Guardians moved to the edge of the ring and watched Roza as she prepared herself. Her back was to me, probably to prevent herself from being distracted. The level was two, the same one the Guardians had been working to get past, and they were fighting in a group.

I saw the subtle shift of the stake in Roza's hand. She'd tightened her grip and moved her hand further up the shaft. She slid her left foot back and crouched low. Her left hand was at the bottom of her chin and the butt of the stake in her right hand was in line with her sternum.

I saw her entire body tense as the Strigoi appeared. Instead of appearing all on one side, the Strigoi appeared around the ring. There were four, and this would be the only wave she had to get through.

She moved her chin down and to the left to look at the Strigoi to the left of and behind her. She faced the Strigoi in front of her and slowly started turning her body to the right. Probably without the Strigoi's knowledge, he started tracing the outside of the circle as she turned in the same direction.

"It's important to get the Strigoi out from behind you. If they're behind you, unless you have eyes in the back of your head, you can't be prepared for their attack." I began commentary for the benefit of the attending Guardians. "Roza is manipulating the Strigoi to move with her. Most likely, the Strigoi doesn't even know why he's moving, but he is."

"Are you sure it's not because she'd using some power against him?" One Guardian asked from the bunch.

"I'm sure. It's a subconscious action that happens when you're focused intently. It's the same in good relationships. If you're interested in someone, you'll unconsciously mimic or mirror their actions." I said trying to keep the annoyance from my voice.

By that time, Roza had successfully moved the Strigoi in front of her and to her right around the ring to their companions. The four Strigoi were now within the same half circle of each other, much easier to deal with.

Roza made a move forward that brought two of the Strigoi into action.

"It's easier to hold your ground and let the target come to you. You have a better chance to use their momentum against them. If you're backed into a corner, try your hardest to get out, but in an open setting such as this, you need to let them come to you." I instructed as the two Strigoi exchanged blows with Roza. She quickly took them out, blocking with her left arm and staking with her right.

"If there are more than two Strigoi, it's important to take out the first ones as quickly and efficiently as possible. The stronger Strigoi are most likely to attack last. The younger, weaker ones are sent first to weaken the Guardian or Moroi. Even if these younger ones die, they tire their intended victim enough for the stronger ones to have a better chance of killing and feeding." I said, explaining her efficiency.

"On the off chance that you're fighting more than four, they might send in strong ones, then the weak ones, and finish with a wave of the strongest. This is to lull you into a false sense of security and make you drop your guard before sending in the strongest to finish you off."

Roza had singled out the strongest Strigoi and was now free to move about the ring as she chose. I was surprised at how accurate the Alchemist had made this simulation. I was tempted to snoop a little to figure out how they programmed the Strigoi to fight so well and so life-like (oxymoron, yes, I know), but I assumed that, being Alchemists, they were very thorough with their assessments of Strigoi that came through their labs.

"You can sometimes do this with two Strigoi, but it's much safer to wait until you have just the one. You'll be able to move freely, as Roza is doing now, which will give you a huge advantage when fighting. If you couldn't tell, she's dragging this fight out intentionally. I suggest you take note of how this Strigoi fights and how Roza counters each move."

The Strigoi was getting agitated and was starting to throw more and more power into his moves. Roza used her forearm to block what would have been a nasty kick, but I doubt she felt it. The pain of his kick spread across my forearm so fierce that I released a hiss.

Roza's eyes flicked to me in concern. _I_ barely saw her move as she flipped the Strigoi over her shoulder and onto the mat. She drove the stake through his heart without a second thought and was by my side in the next instant.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, taking my forearm in her hands and probing it gently. She looked up at me apologetically when I released an involuntary hiss.

"I'm fine, Roza. You should have continued fighting. I think they were actually learning something." I said lightly, prying my arm out of her grasp.

"Well, now you can teach them something." She said with a smile.

"I'm not sure how much I can teach them after your exhibition." I chuckled.

"Well, I showed them how to fight in an open space while waiting for them to come to me, which is most likely going to happen if they're protecting someone. Why don't you show them what to do if they're by themselves fighting in an enclosed space?" She suggested.

"That's a good idea."

"I have those occasionally." She said with a shrug. She pushed me into the ring and shooed me to the middle. "Dimitri is going to show you guys how to fight in an enclosed space. This will be useful if the Strigoi storm the building you're in or if you're doing a raid of their hideout. This fighting will be offensive versus the defensive fighting I showed you."

I started out the same as Roza: crouched low, grip firm and high on the stake. I was starting to get used to feeling the Strigoi. It was in no way pleasant, but I was at a place where I could just ignore it for the most part.

I quickly assessed the Strigoi, locating the one that the others looked to the most.

"If you can locate the leader and kill him, they're more likely to make mistakes or run. Because this is a simulation, they won't run, but they'll make mistakes." I heard Roza explain as I squared off with their leader. Definitely not the oldest Strigoi I'd ever fought, but he was old.

I stalked forward, far enough away from the other Strigoi to not risk any potential danger and close enough to my target to keep him from running. The Strigoi looked slightly panicked at my advance but quickly righted himself to prepare to fight me.

"Most Strigoi lead with their fists. They rely on their legs to get them places, so they don't use them to their advantage." Roza explained my next move. It surprised me how well we could read each other. She knew what I was going to before I really knew. "We tend to fight how we see other people fight, meaning that most Guardians also lead with their fists, but by leading with a kick, you knock them off guard, both literally and figuratively."

I sent a swift kick to the Strigoi's kneecap and was satisfied when the bone snapped and the Strigoi fell to his knee. A violent hiss escaped as he tumbled back when I kneed him in the jaw.

"Only when they're down on the ground do they think to use their legs." Roza scoffed as the Strigoi kicked out at me. I jumped backward to move myself out of his range and looked around me quickly to assess where the other Strigoi were. It didn't look like they'd moved at all.

"Another advantage of attacking the leader first is that the other Strigoi don't know what to do." Roza chuckled. "On one hand, if they attack and help the leader and end up killing the Guardian, the leader will take it as a lack of trust. On the other hand, if they don't attack and end up losing, they're either dead or in trouble with the even higher-ups for not protecting their superior. There's really no good outcome for them so they pick the one that will likely end in their ultimate survival: don't help."

I'd focused back on the leader and exchanged a few more blows, letting the Guardians see how a larger opponent would counter a smaller opponent. While I was by far the largest man in the room, most of these Guardians would be larger than the Strigoi they were fighting. It was unlikely that Roza would ever fight a Strigoi smaller than her.

"Without their leader, each Strigoi will try their luck on their own. There are always exceptions, but as the general rule, they don't unite after their leader is killed." Roza said after I'd staked the leader. I was still crouched down from where I'd slid my stake into the chest of the Strigoi so I spun low on the balls of my feet to face the remaining three Strigoi.

They all looked at each other silently challenging the other to go first which gave me the opportunity to draw closer to the one on my left and engage it. This Strigoi was much weaker than their leader. Her punches didn't pack as much power, comparatively for a Strigoi that is, and she was slow to block any offensive moves from me.

"This is the kind of Strigoi you want to take out quickly. They're not the best and are only going to succeed in making you more tired." Roza said as I quickly staked the female and moved to the next.

It seemed that the last two got smart and decided to team up.

"This happens occasionally. The Strigoi wise up and know that attacking in a pair is safer than attacking alone, especially against a powerful opponent." I sent a wink Roza's direction and focused on the two monsters in front of me.

I knew that, even though they were attacking together, one of them was going to hold back and let the other take the brunt of my hits, and I heard Roza explaining what they were about to do as I charged toward the more outgoing one.

"His first mistake is taking a step away from Dimitri. By backing down before the fighting even starts you set the tone that you're the weaker one. Stand your ground and you're more likely to hold your own when battling. If you notice a Strigoi take a step back without prompting, you've got a weak Strigoi." Roza stated.

"And weak Strigoi you take out quickly," Clayton said, looking toward Roza for approval. Roza gave him a small smile and a nod before turning back to me.

I couldn't help the glare that I gave Clayton as I staked the weak Strigoi. I didn't mean it as a threat, but I could tell from the way his face paled that he took it that way. I could feel Roza rolling her eyes when I smirked. The last Strigoi wasn't a weak Strigoi, but he wasn't extremely powerful either.

"At this point, most Guardians will be tired. You've taken on three Strigoi, two of them being weak, but still. Your best chance at getting out of this alive it to take out the last Strigoi quickly. The longer you drag out the fight, the more time you have to grow more tired and more weak. This also gives the Strigoi a chance to find a weakness in your technique."

"What weakness is in Belikov's technique." A Guardian behind me asked. I was tempted to turn to look at who it was, but I could feel Roza rising to the challenge.

"Dimitri doesn't have a weakness in his technique." She growled, Darkness bubbling under her skin giving her a glowing effect, like a Dark Angel.

"But he does have a weakness." Christopher quipped.

"What's his weakness?" The same voice that asked earlier pondered.

"Rose," Christopher stated never taking his eyes off of me. The Strigoi had been throwing punches left and right while this was happening, and I was content blocking each move. I wasn't tired really, but I was ready to end the fight and see who'd asked about my weakness.

I caught the hand that was flying toward my face and spun under it, twisting the arm behind the creature's back and driving my stake deep into his chest. My eyes fell on the only Guardian that was behind me and looked into the terrified eyes of Guardian Foster. I smirked at his expression and made my way back to Roza's side.

I stood behind her with my hands on her hips.

"Do you think you guys can do better this time?" I asked lowering my lips to Roza's neck.

"I'm sure they can manage," Pavel said motioning the first round of Guardians into the ring. Both Roza and I tensed as the Strigoi appeared. It was an easy feeling to get used to once it manifested, but it hurt every time they showed up.

I noticed most Guardians were taking what we'd told them and applying it to their own fight. The Guardians managed to win this time, but not without casualties. Four of the eight Guardians had been 'killed' during the fight, but it was better than all eight.

"It can obviously use a little work, but it was much better than your previous attempts," Roza said looking to Pavel for further criticism.

"That was much better than the previous attempts. I think you guys need a little more practice fighting Strigoi by yourselves in this simulation ring before you're prepared to up the level as a group." Pavel instructed directing attention away from Roza and me.

Roza cuddled back into my arms and released a sigh when I tightened them around her.

"Do you think we could go hunting tomorrow night?" I asked brushing my lips against her ear.

"We'll have to ask Amca and Baba, but I think we're prepared for that." She said looking up at me over her shoulder. "I think we harmonize nicely."

"I couldn't agree more," I said with a smile. She extracted herself from my embrace and moved over to Pavel presumably to have a chat about hunting.

I looked over to where the Guardians were sparring with each other and took a calming breath. As I inhaled, something took over and my eyes focused on the Guardians across the room. Trey Foster and Clayton Shaw both wore cocky grins as they chatted quietly.

I felt my Light pull toward them and then pull something back into me. I felt stronger as their grins faded from their faces. Their confidence was replaced with fear as they broke away from each other looking all around.

Their eyes eventually found mine, and I could see the anger radiating off of them. Soon, even their anger dissipated. Roza had made her way back to me and was also staring the Guardians down, and then it hit me.

"I took away their confidence," I whispered.

"And I took away their anger," Roza said with a smirk. "They're left with fear and happiness?"

"Odd combination, but I guess that works? Is confidence the only thing I'll feed on?"

"Highly unlikely. I feed on anger and sadness, but also any strong negative emotion. I can feed off the fear you left behind, but anger is the strongest." She said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"So, you'll feed off negative emotions and I'll feed off the positive," I said with a gentle smile.

"I guess? It's just another way we balance each other out. Amca said that he'd be more than happy to pick a place for us. He said that there was nothing but harmony between us." She said with a light laugh.

"I couldn't agree more," I said placing my hands on the back of her thighs to lift her up. She automatically wrapped her legs around my hips and her arms around my neck.

"Belikov, put her down! We aren't done training yet." Pavel called out giving me a stern look. Roza gave a growl and tightened her body around me as I tried to put her down. Pavel continued to give me a glare when Roza didn't unhook herself from me.

"It's not my fault," I called out, putting my hands up to show that it wasn't me that was keeping Roza in place.

"Yeğen, unhook yourself from Guardian Belikov." Pavel sighed.

"Can't, Amca. We're living in harmony." She said with a snicker. I tried to stifle my laughter but earned another glare from Pavel for my efforts.

"You two are testing my patience," Pavel muttered quietly, but it was loud enough for Roza and me to hear him.

"We'll behave." Roza sighed jumping down from her position.

"Speak for yourself," I grumbled pulling her back to me. She slapped my arm gently and pulled back to a more respectable distance. I chuckled as Pavel walked over to our weapons and picked them up.

He tossed Roza her swords and was about to toss me mine, but something stopped him.

"How about you fight unevenly," Pavel said gesturing to the two of us. "Roza will be armed, but you'll have your fists. When you finish a simulation, you two will swap."

"I'm game if you are," Roza said with a shrug. I helped her clasp her back scabbard around her and kneeled in front of her to strap her hip scabbard around her waist.

"I'm game," I said taking her hand and giving her knuckles a chaste kiss.

"Start 'er up, Jas!" Roza called out walking into the simulation ring.

Roza turned her back to me, and I stepped up behind her and turned my back to her. I heard her pull out her swords, and the gentle ring of metal on metal caused me to shiver. The pain returned as I saw ten Strigoi standing around the edges.

"What level did you put this on?" Roza called out.

"Ten." Came Jasper's amused voice. I heard Roza release a growl right before the outgoing Strigoi leap for us. I tuned out the soft whisper of metal slicing through the air and focused on blocking the moves that were being thrown my way.

I stopped the Strigoi's punch with my forearm, careful to minimize the damage as not to distract Roza with her swords work. I used my Light to keep several Strigoi away from myself and from Roza. She methodically lopped off heads as I held them in place. I kept fending off the attacking Strigoi until Roza could assist me in beheading them.

Had we just used our magic, we could have eliminated the ten in a matter of seconds, but we were doing this Pavel's way.

"Rose, sheath your swords. Dimitri take yours." Pavel called out tossing me my weapons. All ten Strigoi were down and we were just waiting for the next wave. The pain that accompanied this wave was worse than the one before.

"How many?" I muttered to Roza as we backed up against each other.

"Rough estimate, fifteen," Roza replied. I could see her Darkness swirling up from under me before shooting out to the majority of the Strigoi. She released two at a time for me to hack off as she battled the same two until I could get to them.

The last of this wave we took out together, her Darkness, my Light.

"Last wave. Neither of you get weapons." Pavel called out. I could help but smile and pull Roza closer to me. She shared my same smile as a new wave of pain appeared. I winked down at her and sent my Light out in a ring, trapping any Strigoi in the band.

Roza sent out one tendril to each of the twenty Strigoi around us effectively causing them to dissipate leaving just the two of us smiling at each other and a room full of speechless Guardians.

"I'd say you two are good to go," Pavel said breaking the silence. "You'll be going to The Pyramid Club. I'm sure Dimitri could make sure that you're dressed properly."

"Why is that?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows. I felt Roza's unease grow as Pavel's expression, but I was thrilled with the response.

"It's 80's night."


	21. Chapter 21

"Where did you even get these?" Roza asked Sydney holding the article of clothing away from her as if it would physically harm her.

"Please, if I wasn't making you wear these, you'd probably wear them yourself." Sydney scoffed taking the shiny black spandex pants away from her.

"I'll admit they'll make my ass look fantastic," Roza said snatching the pants back and adding them to her pile. She currently had a fluorescent pink mini skirt and gold scrunchies. I had to agree with Roza, those pants would make her ass look fantastic, but I wasn't sure that's what I wanted.

I didn't like the thought of Roza walking in a club with her ass on display for any guy to ogle. As if sensing my unease, Roza turned and gave me a loving and reassuring smile. She blew me a kiss before shooing me out of her room.

It was only going to be a few hours, but I already missed her.

"I look like a stained-glass window." I heard Jasper mutter as I made my way onto the ground floor. Jasper and Christopher had been sampling from a mountain of 80's trends. I was starting to wonder where Sydney was able to produce such an enormous variety of clothing from on such short notice, but I was sure with Abe's help anything was possible.

"I'm telling you, dude, jeans and an open jacket and you're set," Christopher said from his spot on one of the couches. Like he said, Christopher was wearing a pair of acid-wash jeans and a beat-up leather jacket. Being a well-trained Guardian with the body to prove it, he didn't need a shirt underneath the jacket nor did the fashion trend call for one.

"I'd rather not have half of my body on full display. I know you're still hunting for some action, but I've got mine upstairs helping Belikov's girl." Jasper said digging through the pile again.

I felt a smirk take over my face as Jasper mentioned Roza being my girl. I could still feel Roza's unease about the fashion choices we, well, Sydney was making for her, but her excitement was much more prominent.

"Speaking of which, what's your girl got you wearing, Belikov?" Christopher asked, being the first to acknowledge my presence in the room.

"I'm not sure. She said that Sydney and she would pick it out. I'm sure it will be atrocious, but I'm going to wear it anyway." I said with a shrug. More likely than not, my duster would cover anything that the girls picked out for me, but I'd still like to look somewhat presentable especially if I was going to have Roza on my arm.

"I know I've said this before, but, man, are you whipped." Christopher chuckled.

"And loving every second of it," I said falling onto the couch beside him to watch the slow progress that Jasper was making.

"Alright, I've seen you eye them like seven times, just wear the parachute pants already." Kyle sighed rubbing his temples as if to ward off a headache.

"Hey now, you don't get a say in what any of us are wearing. You're not having to dress out for this event." Jasper muttered but pulled the parachute pants out of the pile anyway.

"Seems kind of unfair if you ask me." Christopher pointed out.

"I'm just the driver, guys. I don't have to go into the club so there's no need for me to dress the part." Kyle said relaxing into his armchair before shooting forward to grab an article of clothing. "Look! You could look just like a Mondrian painting!"

"I'm not sure that's a positive thing," Jasper muttered. He grabbed the parachute pants and a muscle shirt before moving off the change.

"Totally radicle, dude," Christopher said in a lazy tone as Jasper emerged looking like MC Hammer.

"I feel totally ridiculous, dude," Jasper said in a voice that mimicked Christopher's.

"It's definitely got that ridiculous feel to it," Kyle muttered.

"You don't get a say, remember?" Jasper sighed rolling his eyes. He fell into the spot on the other side of Christopher, and we fell into a slightly awkward silence.

Kyle looked like he wanted to say something, and Christopher was fidgeting impatiently beside me. Occasionally, he would look over at me and open his mouth as if to say something, but when I would turn to give him a questioning look, he always looked away.

"Do you guys know what we're doing for weapons?" I asked finally breaking the tense silence.

"I figured we'd have our back scabbards and a stake," Christopher said gesturing toward his own sword while patting his pocket to point out his stake.

"What about Roza? I don't think she'll be able to hide a stake or wear her hip scabbard."

"She'll figure something out," Jasper said distractedly as he continued to inspect his pants.

"Dimitri!" Her melodic voice floated through the air. I quickly jumped up from my spot and rushed up the stairs. I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn't stop to see who it was. I knocked on her door once before entering.

"You called?" I inquired as I stepped into the room, but I didn't find Roza. Sydney was sitting on Roza's bed flipping through a magazine with little interest. She looked up as she flipped a page and gave me an odd look.

"I didn't call you." She said. When she looked behind me her face lit up. I turned to see Jasper, Christopher, and Kyle standing in the doorway with matching confused expressions.

"I didn't hear anyone call you." Christopher piped up.

"I called you," Roza said from the doorway of her closet.

"I didn't hear you call him," Sydney said with furrowed eyebrows, tossing her magazine to the side. My eyes roamed Roza's form. She'd adorned the shiny black spandex pants and her miniskirt and paired it with a tight black tank top. Her hands and forearms were covered with neon yellow fishnet fingerless gloves.

Her hair was held up in a side ponytail with a gold scrunchie and had been teased out to twice its normal volume. Her feet were covered by strappy heels at least five inches tall, but they made her legs look more shapely. All in all, she was perfect, and there was not one place for her to hide a stake.

"Are you sure you don't need leg warmers with that getup?" Jasper chuckled.

"Nah, I think my legs are hot enough," Roza responded with a wink, kicking one of her heel-clad feet out to the side to draw even more attention to it. I could practically feel everyone else rolling their eyes, but she was right. Her legs were hot, as was the rest of her, but I didn't know if I was going to be able to let her leave the house as such.

"I concur," I said with my gaze still locked on Roza. She gave a slight blush but didn't respond.

"Before we get into how awesome Rose looks, can we answer the question of how Dimitri heard Rose call for him but no one else did?" Sydney asked moving to the edge of the bed where Jasper joined her seconds later.

Roza smirked but didn't provide an answer, and I didn't have one so I shrugged.

"No one?" Sydney asked incredulously. "Are you not the least bit curious as to how you heard Rose call you?"

"Not really. As long as I hear her when she calls I should be fine." I responded with another shrug which made Roza laugh. I had a feeling that I was at Roza's beck and call, no matter how soft, because of the bond we'd formed with the Darkness and Light.

"Whipped." I heard Christopher mutter quietly. I knew Roza heard him from the stony gaze she gave him, but it didn't appear that anyone else heard him.

"Your clothes are on your bed, Comrade," Roza said finally causing Sydney to stop analyzing us as if she would suddenly figure out how I heard Roza. Roza turned to the rest of those attending, "We'll leave in about an hour."

I glanced out her windows to still see daylight, and the sun wasn't even close to the horizon.

"We're going to get food first, then we're going to the club," Roza explained sensing my growing question. I nodded and pushed the other males out of the room, dragging Jasper by the arm as I went.

I nudged the guys down the stairs and moved into my room to see what Roza had picked for me to wear. Sitting on my bed were a pair of shiny black spandex pants that matched the ones that Roza had on. A muscle shirt in the same neon yellow as Roza's fingerless gloves was laying beside them.

I sighed and complied with her choices. Both articles were extremely form-fitting, but I suppose that I had the body to pull it off. Only one thing could become problematic, especially if I was going to be dancing with Roza, but I could always use Roza to block anything obvious.

"This is the last time I ever let you dress me," I mumbled before walking out into the hall. Roza was leaning against the wall opposite my door with a smirk on her face.

"You say that now, but you'll let me do it again with little to no objections otherwise." She said pushing herself off the wall and throwing her arms around my neck. "At least you look hot."

"No thanks to you." I huffed. "You couldn't have picked either a top or a bottom that didn't hug every contour of my body?"

"I mean, I could have, but I didn't want to. If you're going to show it off, Comrade, you've got to show it all off." She purred rubbing herself up against me suggestively.

"This was what I was afraid of." I moaned dropping my head to rest on the curve of her neck.

"Self-control, babe. It's all a lesson in self-control." She chuckled running her fingers through my hair.

"I've already failed," I mumbled against her skin. I traced the curve of her neck with my tongue stopping below her ear. She started to pull away as I took her earlobe in between my teeth, but I gripped her hips to keep her in place.

"Comrade, stop, you're going to make us late if you keep going like this." She protested weakly.

"You should have thought about that before you pressed your gorgeous body up against me," I said before claiming her bright red lips as my own. We didn't get too deep into the kiss before we heard someone clear their throat down the hall.

I released a sigh as I let Roza pull away to deal with whoever interrupted us and used the time to study her up close. Despite my best effort, her lipstick was flawless on her plump lips. Her beautiful brown eyes were framed perfectly with her black eyelashes, though they were made more mysterious by a bright pink smokey eye.

Her normal perfectly smooth hair was teased out in her ponytail though she left a few strands out to frame her face. I tried to get my brain to hear the words coming out of her mouth as she spoke to the person at the other end of the hallway, but all I could see was the way her mouth formed the words, how her lips moved to shape each syllable.

Perfect.

She turned her head to look at me and her mouth stopped moving. Her eyebrows furrowed, and I couldn't help but frown as her confusion replaced the smile she had been wearing.

"Comrade?" Her voice finally broke through.

"Huh?" I asked shaking my head as an attempt to focus.

"Are you ready to leave?" She asked with a small smile.

"Whenever you are, milaya," I responded with a smile of my own. She nodded and pulled me behind her. Before we turned to walk down the stairs, I looked to see who she had been talking to.

Abe and Pavel were standing outside Abe's office looking as stern as ever. Abe narrowed his eyes while Pavel took the opportunity to crack his knuckles. Roza, of course, didn't see this interaction, but I'm sure she would have rolled her eyes at their overprotectiveness, but I couldn't help but gulp as I followed Roza down the stairs.

"You better take care of her, Belikov! We might need to have another chat if not." I heard Abe call from behind me, but I tried not to put too much thought into his threat. I was going to take excellent care of Roza, no threat needed.

My eyes focused on Roza's ass as it swayed back and forth in her descent. Even with the pants and mini skirt on, her ass was still prominent and not very well hidden. Her small waist further accentuated all of her curves, and her style choice tonight told me that I was going to be peeling guys off of her all night long.

"Are you guys ready to leave?" Roza called out. I tore my gaze away from her body and saw the rest of our party lounging around the living room. They all looked up at Roza and me and nodded in confirmation.

We took the time to strap on our respective weapons. Sydney had adorned a similar outfit to Roza, but hers wasn't as tightly molded to her body, though it did show off the curves she did have which I noted Jasper eyeing fondly.

I didn't have a place for my stake so I left it on the counter in the kitchen alongside my Scimitar.

"I can carry that for you, Comrade, if you'd like?" Roza offered, nodding toward my stake.

"Where will you put it?" I asked running my eyes over her body once more.

"I'll put it next mine." She said picking up my stake and sliding it into the strap on the inside of her thigh right next to her stake. She pulled her skirt back down to successfully cloak her weapons and pulled her back scabbard on.

My eyes lingered on her thighs knowing when the time came, I'd have fun retrieving my stake from her.

"Let's go." Someone said behind me, and we all filed out into the garage.

Christopher, Jasper, and Sydney all climbed into the SUV that Kyle was driving while Roza handed me the keys to Sasha. We both donned our helmets before we climbed on. Roza wrapped her arms around my waist and her thighs spread wide around my hips.

I felt the two stakes digging into my hip, but I didn't comment because they weren't doing any damage.

"Where are we eating?" I asked as we were flying down the road.

"Wok to Walk," Roza replied. "Just follow Kyle. He knows where he's going."

I nodded and followed close to Kyle as we wove through the blocks of New York City. While Kyle parked on the street in front of the restaurant, I found a parking lot closer to the club to leave the bike. Roza and I walked back to Wok to Walk and arrived as the others were coming out with their food.

They nodded at us and started to meander their way down the street. I held the door open for Roza as we entered to get our food.

"What do you want?" She asked looking up at the menu.

"Surprise me," I said leaning down to kiss her cheek. She ordered, and I paid. She handed my carton of food and a pair of chopsticks before gesturing me outside.

We walked side by side back the way we came, eating our food in silence. We passed Kyle as he sat in the driver's seat of the SUV eating his meal. I figured he'd wait until he finished to move the vehicle closer to the club.

We took our time navigating the streets back to the club. We quickly finished our food and discarded the empty containers. I tangled my fingers with Roza's as we continued our walk in silence. There were a few pedestrians that gave us confused glances and a few that gave Roza a little too much attention for my liking, but most steered clear of us and our odd attire.

The closer we got to the club the less odd looks we received. It appeared that everyone around The Pyramid Club knew it was 80's night and they didn't even spare us a second glace, well other than Roza.

"You know, I really hate that you're so attractive sometimes," I told her about a block from the club. There were a few people that I could only assume were heading in the same direction. The males would practically salivate at Roza until they noticed me walking with her.

"Why?" She asked with a hurt expression on her face.

"Cause I'm pretty sure if I wasn't standing right next to you holding your hand, there would be a mob of guys begging to get into your pants. I'd probably be in jail by now if I wasn't near you all the time."

"I suppose that's a reason to keep you close to me." She smirked and looped her arm around mine while resting her head on my shoulder.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I saw a few nearby males slump in defeat. To further dissuade them from pursuing Roza, I placed a kiss on the top of her head. As we approached the door, the bouncer's eyes glazed over with obvious lust at the sight of Roza, but he visibly paled as I narrowed my eyes at him.

I heard Roza giggle as the bouncer let us in without a word. Inside the club was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but there was already a mass of gyrating bodies dancing to the music I had grown up with.

"This seems like your kind of place, Comrade," Roza muttered with a smirk.

I had to agree with her. "Electric Avenue" was just starting and a wide smile spread across my face as I pulled Roza toward the middle of the crowd. I was more than surprised when Roza started doing the running man.

"It seems I'm not the only one with knowledge of the 80's." I chuckled in her ear as I pulled her closer to me effectively halting her outrageous dancing.

"I know all the lamest dance moves, Comrade." She laughed. Her body rolled back against mine. The next time I rolled with her placing my hands on her hips to keep her in place.

While her eyes were roaming the club, my eyes were focused on the way her body moved against mine. I didn't notice any discomfort when I entered the club so I assumed that it was too early for Strigoi to be here.

It was better for us to be here before the Strigoi got here anyway. If we walked into the club when they were already here, they might sense the shift in the air as we entered, but if we were already here, the club would already have the charged air we brought.

As we were waiting for them to appear, several guys tried to approach Roza, but the look I gave them kept them at bay. I'm assuming that Roza did a similar act with any female that tried to approach me because I wasn't bothered either. We danced in an open space in the middle of the dance floor.

We moved well together which brought us more attention with each song, but it was Roza's body that held the attention. Each curve of her body was made to draw eyes, and the way she moved, so confident and flawlessly, kept them on her.

I felt the moment they stepped into the club. My stomach clenched, and I heard Roza suck in a breath as her body hesitated in her next move. We'd danced our way through several songs as the nauseating pit in our stomachs grew.

There were quite a few Strigoi that had filtered in the club. Considering the club was small, there had to have been a few missing person reports that came from this particular club. There wasn't anything that we could do about that now, but we could stop the monsters that were responsible.

"Tainted Love" came on, and Roza pulled away from me. She turned to face me and gave me a wink as she backed her way slowly through the crowd. The crowd behind her parted to let her through as I stalked after her.

She continued to dance backward as her Darkness parted the way while it worked to draw me further in.

"Touch me, baby, tainted love." She mouthed at me as I reached her at the edge of the dance floor near a dark corner. I grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to me before lowering myself in front of her.

I winked up at her as I ran my hands from her ankle up to her thigh. Her head tilted back and her eyes closed on their own accord as my fingers worked their way higher and high. I slid my stake out of the strap on her inner thigh and kissed my way up to her mouth.

She eagerly returned my heated kiss. I could feel their disgusting eyes roaming my Roza as she pressed herself even closer to me. She pulled back slightly to give me a knowing look. Her hands tangled themselves in my hair as she leaned up to whisper in my ear.

As the word pushed past her lips and brushed lightly across my skin, I shivered in anticipation.

"Showtime."


	22. Chapter 22

Roza turned from me leaving me wanting more, but I knew she was playing her part. She swayed her hips as she approached the table of Strigoi, giving them a wink as she passed by. Thankfully they bought it with little consideration to their lives, of course, if Roza was offering herself to me like that, I wouldn't care about the lasting consequences either.

The entire table, all five of them, were practically shoving each other out of the way in an attempt to get to Roza. She worked her way over to the bar where three of them approached her. From her body language and theirs, I could tell she was both disgusted and successful in her attempts to seduce, not that I had any doubts about her abilities.

I pushed through the side door of the club and waited patiently for Roza to emerge, the Strigoi in tow. I felt her disgust grow and a cold sensation worked its way up my arm and another up my thigh.

Those monsters were touching my Roza!

"I'm fine, Comrade. I'll be out soon." I heard her quiet voice reach me. I loosened my grip on my stake and leaned against the wall opposite the door.

I felt more hands on her, and my grip steadily tightened around the cool metal. By the time I felt her drawing near, my Light was pooling around my feet as I fed off the elation coming from the club.

The Darkness seeped out of the cracks in the doorway seconds before Roza stumbled out into the alleyway, feigning intoxication. She used her left hand to swing around the door holding it open as five nasty looking Strigoi followed her with their gazes transfixed on the exotic beauty.

The next thing they knew was my stake was through one of their hearts and another's head was rolling on the ground. Roza swung her sword through the air a few times as the other three, rather slowly, began to understand what situation they'd just walked into.

"Dhampirs!" One of them hissed as Roza worked to back them further into the alleyway. Her Darkness and my Light tangled together as I stepped up beside her. I transferred my stake to my left hand and pulled my Khopesh from its scabbard on my back.

"Hello, boys," Roza said sweetly. Now that they'd seen through her façade, they seemed less inclined to view her as sexy and instead looked upon her with malice. "I don't suppose you'd tell me where the majority of you are staying, would you?"

"Over our dead bodies." One growled baring his teeth.

"Careful what you ask for," I said smirking. I threw the stake up in the air causing it to flip a few times before the tip landed safely in my palm. I drew my arm back and sent the stake sailing through the air between us and straight into the heart of the one who'd growled at Roza.

"I'll give you two more tries," Roza said in the same sweet voice as she slowly began moving closer to the two remaining Strigoi. "Are there more of you nearby?"

"We have our own hunting grounds, bitch, of course there are more of us. We've got a few more guys back at our base, we never go out all at once. We usually bring back something for the others to snack on." The older of the two Strigoi answered kicking his dead companion's body out of the way. "Sadly, you've impeded on our turf long enough. We're going to have to put an end to this intrusion."

"Is that so?" Roza chuckled. Her Darkness swirled up and threaded through her fingers. I chuckled as the Strigoi paused in their once determined attack as they stared wide-eyed at the sentient smoke

"What the hell are you?"

"I am the Darkness," Roza responded before leaping toward the frozen Strigoi. The Darkness held them in place as her Khopesh worked its magic.

"That was a little cheesy, Roza," I informed as she sheathed her sword. She shrugged before pulling her phone out of her bra, most likely to send a text to Sydney for cleanup.

She bent down to retrieve my stake from the chest cavity of the dead Strigoi and wiped it on his shirt before replacing it next to hers in her thigh strap.

"That was hot," I mumbled sheathing my sword. "So, there are more of them that operate around here. We've got to clear this 'hunting ground' before we move to the next. If we clear this club, it will be a while before more Strigoi try to take the place over."

"Only what they don't know is that it will have been completely clean for a while before they got there." Roza finished.

"Right, but we'll still need to keep an eye on the place," I said tensing as the alleyway door opened. I relaxed as I saw Christopher step out with his stake raised. "It's all clear out here, guys."

Jasper stepped through the opening next and took a quick look around before gesturing for Sydney to come out too. All three of them looked like they'd been dancing non-stop since entering the club, and from the makeup that had been smeared all over Jasper's face, I could assume that Sydney was getting along just fine.

"You guys were busy," Christopher said squatting down to inspect the bodies before Sydney got rid of all evidence.

"Some of us had to be." Roza teased throwing in an eye roll for added effect. "Turns out the Strigoi that live in the city are a lot more organized than I thought. They've got designated hunting grounds. Dimitri and I are going to canvas the place to see if we can find where the rest of them are hiding so we can clear this territory before moving to the next."

"Are you sure you two can handle it?" Christopher asked.

"We'll be fine." I chuckled as Roza tangled her fingers with mine.

"I'm sure one of us will be able to call you if we need back up," Roza said pulling me down the alleyway and out into the street. There were several people still trying to get into the club, but Roza skipped past them all as they continued to stare at her.

We were both laughing as she twirled her way down the street as I followed faithfully behind her. I knew we didn't feel anything on the way here so we could rule that direction out. We, and by 'we' I mean Roza, twirled our way up and down the streets of New York City hoping to find even the slightest clue as to where Strigoi were hiding.

We didn't find anything nauseating, but Roza did feel something.

"It's so fearful here." She mumbled after she stopped abruptly. I gripped her hips to steady myself as I ran into her.

"Fearful?" I asked looking around. We'd strayed off the beaten path and were in a more residential area. There weren't many streetlights on the block, but there was enough light dotted here and there to see everything clearly with our enhanced vision.

"Definitely fear." She said quietly rolling her head back. "It's almost intoxicating. There's so much power just for my taking."

She pressed her body closer to me, her head leaning back on my shoulder. My arms wrapped around her waist as her elation started seeping into me. Her happiness fueled me while the fear surrounding us fueled her. Her happiness was the most satisfying thing I'd ever felt.

"Where's the fear coming from?" I whispered in her ear.

"It's all around us, but I don't know what's causing it." She moaned drawing in even more of the fear.

"Roza, no need to overdo it. Slow down and take what you need." I instruct siphoning off some of her excess emotions.

"Right, sorry." She said shaking her head. "Let's keep walking and see if we can find the source of the fear."

I only nodded and nudged her forward, keeping a hand on her waist to make sure she was steady enough on her feet. We didn't have to walk very far before the nauseating feeling started creeping in.

"I think we're heading in the right direction," I mumbled pulling her back slightly to remain close to me. She released a sigh of slight annoyance but complied with my protective nature.

The further we walked down the block the more unsettled our stomachs became. Roza placed a hand on my chest to halt our forward movement. When I looked down at her, she turned to face me and raised her leg up to my hip.

I raised an eyebrow at the strangely placed behavior, but she gave me an annoyed and pointed look. I quickly caught on and slipped my hand under her skirt to retrieve our stakes. I passed one stake to her as she pulled out her Khopesh before quickly pulling my own.

We basically followed our stomachs as they led us closer to the Strigoi. The horrible feeling led us to an extremely abandoned looking warehouse. I could see light coming from inside so there must be some 'living' occupants.

I looked toward Roza in confirmation after we found an open door. She nodded in agreeance, and I pulled the door open with force. There were several Strigoi that were just lounging around on ratty old couches, and they all jumped up as we walked in.

I was a little tense, but Roza was relaxed and confident as she immediately drew all the attention. I took the opportunity to fan out to her left where the majority of the Strigoi were. It surprised me that they didn't immediately start attacking, and instead stood there with their shocked expressions.

"Now, I like to think myself knowledgeable on most things Strigoi hideout related, but don't you think you should be attacking or something?" Roza asked with a smirk.

"The two of you? You think you're a challenge to us?" Laughed one. He seemed to have been the one left behind tonight, even though, by the looks of it, he was prepared to go out clubbing.

"That's hurtful." Roza quipped placing the hand that held her stake over her heart. I couldn't help but chuckle which drew a little attention to myself, but as Roza continued to circle around the large room she drew all the attention away from myself.

"Please, something as small as you couldn't possibly take on all of us, but you'll make a decent snack." Another Strigoi answered with a scoff.

I saw anger flash in Roza's eyes before the look turned to amusement. She continued a leisurely pace while the Strigoi moved closer together. Her hips swayed in a provocative manner, and I had to force back several growls as each Strigoi took their time eyeing her.

Roza didn't respond to the last Strigoi's comment and instead continued to twirl her stake and Khopesh in her hands. When Roza was directly across the room from me her eyes snapped up to meet mine. My grip tightened around my weapons as Roza allowed the Darkness to seep out of her.

I stifled a laugh as the Strigoi took a startled step away from her. The black tendrils of her Darkness slowly crept forward at a non-threatening pace. The Strigoi watching in amazement as the smoke drew nearer to them, but they didn't make a move to flee from it.

I allowed my Light to escape in its need to match Roza's Darkness. Her eyes remained firmly on mine as her tentacles spiraled their way up the legs of the Strigoi, lulling them into a false sense of security.

The Strigoi swayed slightly as if in a daze as Roza's sweet voice sounded again.

"Do you still think I can't take you on?" She asked. If I didn't know her game, I'd probably be in the same trace as the Strigoi. I remember what it felt like being controlled by her. It was intoxicating, she was intoxicating.

I snaked my Light around a few of the Strigoi, and they instantly seized. Neither Darkness or Light had penetrated them yet, but they knew what was coming, though they did not seem to care.

"How many nests are there around the city?" Roza asked stepping closer to the Strigoi and myself.

"There are probably half a dozen in each borough." One responded in a breathless sigh.

"How many Strigoi would you say are in each nest?"

"We're one of the larger ones, so probably between ten and fifteen, no more than thirty." A different one answered.

"Where's the nearest nest to here?" Came her next question.

"A few blocks east, there are about ten newly awakened trying to make it on their own." It was unnerving to hear the dreamy tone each Strigoi used to answer Roza's questions. They all sounded as infatuated with her as I was.

"How do you recruit?" Roza asked attempting to raise an eyebrow.

"If we find a lone Strigoi in our hunting ground, we give them the option to join us or we kill them." Came the response.

"Are you the ones causing the overwhelming fear in the surrounding neighborhoods?" Came Roza's final question.

"Yes."

With each question and answer, Roza got closer to them. She was now within sword's reach, and they still hadn't moved an inch. Something flashed in her eyes right before she impaled the Strigoi that I'd also wrapped prompting me to do the same.

When our respective tendrils retracted, the bodies of the Strigoi fell to the ground with soft thuds. The remaining Strigoi radiated fear, but they still didn't move.

"I underestimated you, Huntress." The flashy Strigoi commented, his voice lacking the dreamy tone that it once held.

"For monsters like you, it usually only happens once." She said sweetly before taking his head. She released the other Strigoi from her Darkness, and they immediately started attacking.

I never understood why Strigoi never tried to run, why they always had to fight. Even in my time as a Strigoi, I didn't understand it. I guess something in them just demanded the fight no matter what.

Most of the Strigoi went after Roza considering only two really surveyed their surroundings before charging into a fight. Those two Strigoi charged me, assuming that I was the biggest threat.

Roza had two lying dead at her feet before the two Strigoi that were charging me got within swinging distance. I watched from the corner of my eye as Roza toyed with the last four. I could practically hear her giggling as she ducked and dodged without retaliation.

That's another thing Strigoi loved, I remember distinctly from my time that I was particularly fond it also: the chase. Killing was easy, it was the tracking and the fight that was truly exhilarating.

I'd staked one Strigoi without blinking an eye and halted the other with my Light so I could watch Roza skip around the room as these monsters chased her. She'd gone to the furthest point in the room, backing herself into a corner.

Without warning, Roza charged toward the group and leapt over them in a single bound. She landed a safe distance behind them and started running toward me. She sent out her Darkness to finish off the Strigoi in my possession and came to a halt beside me.

She gave me a wink before focusing her attention back on the Strigoi that had finally figured out where she'd gone.

"Come on, Comrade, aren't you having fun?" She asked in a giddy tone.

"I think you're just having too much fun, Roza." I chuckled keeping my eyes on the charging Strigoi. As I had done earlier in the night, Roza launched a stake into the heart of one of the creatures with a resounding thud, but the others paid no mind to their fallen companion.

The first of the remaining three started by throwing a punch at Roza. I didn't take to kindly to his attack so I sliced the arm that had thrown the punch off. His scream of agony was promptly ended when my stake entered his heart from behind.

"How chivalrous of you," Roza muttered as she blocked a punch thrown by the second attacking Strigoi. The last Strigoi targeted me. He seemed to be the smartest Strigoi in the building as he didn't attack immediately.

He started circling me, trying to wedge himself in between Roza and me, but I wasn't going to let that happen. I decided to follow Roza's lead and have some fun. I quickly sheathed my Khopesh and switched my stake to my right hand. The Strigoi gained some confidence when I limited myself to my stake.

He leapt forward with bared fangs. My fist slammed right into his nose which sent his own blood gushing down his face. He howled in pain and clutched his nose in his hands. I heard another crack as he set his rapidly healing nose back into place.

The vicious growl told me that he was about to make several mistakes. The first being the act of revenge. He'd let his anger at my action cloud his judgment. The second mistake was becoming unaware of his surroundings. Roza was smirking as she positioned herself behind the distracted Strigoi.

The third and final mistake was attacking me. I don't say this to sound cocky, but Roza _was_ right behind a Strigoi that was attacking me. If she thought my protectiveness when it came to her was intense, she obviously didn't consider her own protectiveness over me to be equal or greater in intensity.

Before the Strigoi could do more than remove his hands from his face, Roza wrapped an arm around the Strigoi's neck, effectively putting the creature in a headlock. She gave me a wink that prompted me to slam my stake into the chest of the struggling Strigoi.

She quickly released the lifeless corpse and stared up at me with a dazzling smile.

"What?" I asked narrowing my eyes in suspicion.

"You were having fun." She said, the smile remaining firm on her face. I rolled my eyes and started toward the door we'd come through.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent a quick text to Sydney with our location. I also sent a text to Kyle so he would know where he was going before Sydney could inform him, but I also told him to stay vigilant. We'd killed the Strigoi at the club and the ones that had remained in their compound, but we didn't know if there were any more Strigoi that had gone out tonight or if they'd be back.

I didn't hear Roza following me, and when I turned to see what she was doing, I found that she was walking slowly around the room observing the bodies of the dead. She'd sheathed her Khopesh and retrieved her stake, but she hadn't holstered it yet.

"What's wrong, Roza?" I asked after a few quiet minutes of observing her actions. With each body she passed, the frown on her face grew deeper.

"It's harder now." She whispered. I didn't say anything, knowing that if I gave her enough time, she'd go on without prompting. "Killing them is easy, but knowing there is a way to save them, to give them back what they'd lost, it makes living with it harder. I don't feel as bad as I used to because I know what they're capable of in this state, but it doesn't make it easier."

"I'm so sorry, Roza," I whispered walking over to her and wrapping her in my arms. It was my fault that she knew all too well what the Strigoi was capable of, but I felt the exact opposite of what she was feeling. "I can't say that I feel bad, or worse, after what I've been through. You know what I did, but you never had to live this life and come back from it."

"Nothing you did as a Strigoi was your fault, Comrade," Roza mumbled against my chest.

"I know that thanks to you, but that doesn't make it easier knowing what I did when I was possessed by the devil. I'm grateful for what you did for me, but not everyone has you to get them through that transformation. You're the only reason I made it through. You've no idea what these men went through in their time as a Strigoi. You could have saved them by turning them back, but you also saved them by setting them free." I consoled wrapping my arms even tighter around her.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She said finally.

"I'm sorry for the things I did as a Strigoi. I'm not just talking about what I did to you, but everything I did. I know, I know. I didn't have control of myself, but that doesn't mean I don't still feel bad about it, but I'm done blaming myself. You saved me, and you saved them."

I pulled back to look down at her. She had tears threatening to spill from her eyes as I cupped her face in my hands. I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She raised herself on her toes to deepen the kiss, but it was soon interrupted by the most obnoxious member of our party.

"Wow, you guys have been busy. However, I think you should wait to get busier for when you get home." Roza pulled back with a sigh.

"It's nice to see you, too, Christopher." She mumbled turning to the newly arrived trio. Sydney looked around at the bodies with a slightly impressed expression but didn't say anything as she set to work.

"Are you ready to go home, Roza?" I whispered in her ear and was rewarded with a moan.

"Ready when you are." She answered practically pulling me out of the building. "See you guys at home!"

"I'm sure we will," Jasper mumbled sticking close to Sydney.

I ignored him and the smirk Christopher was sending my way and followed Roza back to Sasha. I was more than ready to get Roza back home, and I could tell she was ready to be there, too.


	23. Chapter 23

"Too early. I don't wanna." I mumbled into her hair when she began prodding me awake. We'd arrived back at the house in the early hours of the morning and had been far too tired to follow Christopher's advice and 'get busy.' We'd fallen asleep as soon as our clothes were shed and we were cuddled in bed.

My arms were wrapped tightly around Roza's waist as she struggled to get out of bed. Through my eyelids, I could see the light streaming into the room from the windows. I knew that I wasn't ready to open my eyes and face the bright light. I felt it was early afternoon, but my body was still tired from last night's events.

Despite living on the nocturnal schedule for the majority of my life, having to switch back from living a few weeks on a diurnal schedule was hell. It wasn't too hard to stay up later to work through the night, but after sleeping through most of the day, I wasn't ready to get up again.

At least we weren't going out tonight again.

It felt so strange to have Roza be the one prodding me awake, but here she was wiggling her perfect body in an attempt to release herself from my grasp. However, I was nowhere near ready to release her nor was I ready to leave the comfort of our bed.

"Comrade." She laughed when I tightened my grip.

"No. Roza stay," I muttered pulling the covers back over our heads, blocking out the bright light and trapping us inside. She huffed in slight annoyance but allowed me to keep her there. I gave her enough room to turn and face me.

I moaned quietly as she wound her fingers through my hair. She gently pulled my head back and ran her wet tongue up my windpipe, producing another moan from me.

"Now you're awake." She chuckled throwing a leg over my hip to pull my erection closer to her.

"You're relentless, woman," I mumbled before attaching my lips to hers. She moaned into my mouth as I rolled on top of her. The arm that I used to prop myself up on played with her hair while the other gripped her thigh to keep her in place.

I had to give it to her, if there was any sure-fire way to get me up, it was Roza rubbing herself against me suggestively. I just wish that I could have done this back at the Academy. There was no way she'd be late if I could just wake her up like this. Then again, we probably wouldn't have done a lot of training had this actually happened.

Her skin was warm against mine. The sheets had fallen off my back, exposing it to the cool air causing me to shiver. She ran her fingernails down my back, and her hips wriggled against mine in impatience.

"Dimitri." She sighed contently. My lips trailed across her cheek and down her throat. Her chest heaved against mine as my lips traveled even lower. A moan so sexual it caused my cock to twitch ran through her body when I took one of her nipples in my mouth.

Her back arched upward, pushing her breasts further into my face, not that I minded. My tongue circled the hardened peak then trailed back up to her mouth. She greedily sucked my tongue into her mouth and flipped us over.

She used her feet to pin my thighs to the bed, and my wrists were captured in her grip. She ground her hips down right as she nipped my tongue gently. I released a growl that matched her own sexual noises and smirked in delight as it caused a shiver to run through her.

My dick was fully erect and ready to be buried deep inside her, but she never let her throbbing heat near it, though I know we both wanted it.

She released my tongue from her teeth only to attach them to my earlobe, tugging gently as her hot breath fanned across my skin.

"Roza." I moaned trying to gain some control. Her perky nipples were brushing against my chest as she leaned over me. She pulled back to look down at me with a smirk on her face.

"Yes, dear? Do you need something?" She asked innocently. I narrowed my eyes and glared up at her before raising my hips as much as I could to poke her with my dick.

"You know what I want, Roza. It's the same thing you want." I respond huskily.

"What do I want?" She asked leaning in closer till she was only a breath away. I could see her control slipping as I smirked and glanced down at her luscious lips.

"You want me to fuck you," I said breathlessly closing the space between our lips. She moaned and relieved enough pressure on my wrists for me to flip us over. She automatically wrapped her legs around my hips to pull me closer.

We both moaned as my stiff member pressed against her. She wriggled her hips, trying to line me up with her, but with no success. She growled in frustration while I smirked down at her. I ran a hand down between her breasts and over her stomach. Her body arched into my palm, and her chest heaved in anticipation as my hand traveled lower.

My fingers brushed over her soft curls to grasp my shaft and lined myself up at her entrance. I held myself as still as I could as I watched her patience wear thin. Right before she snapped, I thrusted into her warm body with a force that pulled a scream from her lips.

Her body lifted itself off the bed to connect with mine at every point it could. I moved one arm under her body to keep her in place, her skin pressed against mine. I took a quick moment to revel in the feeling of her wrapped completely around me.

I buried my face in the crook of her neck, pressing wet, harsh kisses on her skin, hell bent on giving her every ounce of pleasure I could give her. I relied on her heartbeat and moans to guide my tempo and force. Her nails clawed at my back as I started out slow and hard. Her moans were low and long in my ear.

As I picked up speed, her moans increased in pitch and her nails dug deeper. I could hear her heart thundering in her chest, matching tempo with mine. Her thighs tightened around my hips as my stomach clenched in a way it never had before. It took me a few moments longer with my lust-filled mind to realize that the feeling was Roza's, not mine.

My name escaped her mouth in broken moans as her walls clamped down around me. I pulled back to look down at her as she fell apart around me. I allowed myself three powerful thrusts and joined her in complete bliss.

Her eyes were closed and a look of utter happiness took over her face. Her chest was still heaving, making her bountiful breasts jiggle in a mesmerizing way.

"That was absolutely incredible, Comrade." She sighed after we both caught our breath. I chuckled as I rolled to the side, pulling her with me. She moaned at the movement as she settled herself into my side.

"I aim to please," I said with a smirk. I could practically feel her eyes rolling in their sockets. We fell into a peaceful silence as we cuddled in the plush bed before Roza ruined it.

"Well…now that you're up…" She said rolling toward the edge of the bed.

"Oh, no you don't," I grumbled pulling her back to my body. We ended up in the same position we started in this morning when she woke me up. I was far from ready to leave this bed, and if I was staying so was Roza.

"Dimitri, we've slept long enough." Roza scolded lightly.

"Beds are good for things other than sleep, Roza," I whispered in her ear causing her to shiver.

"Once wasn't enough for you?" She giggled.

"I'll never be able to get enough of you," I said running my hand over her soft flesh. As my touch raised goosebumps on her skin, the feeling of her skin under my fingertips raised my arousal yet again.

"How about a dip in the ocean?" She asked seductively, looking over her shoulder at me.

"I'd rather dip into something else…" I mumbled but let her get up. My eyes focused on the gentle sway of her hips as she walked into her closet. She held herself with such confidence even though every single curve of her body was on full display to me.

"Black or red?" She called out.

"Is there a third, less enticing color I can choose?" I moaned.

"Is it the color that makes it enticing?" She asked sticking her head out of the closet to give me a pointed look.

"No, but I could possibly control myself if you weren't in either of those two colors," I answer sitting up to lean against the headboard. Roza takes a moment to let her eyes roam over my form. She gave a pleased look and disappeared back into the closet.

"Black it is." I heard her mumble and suppressed a groan. "You should probably get dressed before you leave this room."

"You're actually wanting me to get dressed?" I asked raising an eyebrow. She exited her closet in a modest black bikini. Despite the amount of skin showing, my eyes were drawn to the two areas that were covered. Black was seriously her color. It made her look even more appetizing.

"I'll give you the same reasoning as last time. Sydney is the only other female in that house, but you'll have to worry about running into the various protective males in my life." She laughed. She held up the tight spandex pants I'd quickly gotten rid of the night before.

"I'm not putting those back on again, ever," I said sternly. She rewarded my stern comment with a full-belly laugh that filled the room and my heart with happiness.

"How do you plan on getting more clothes? I definitely don't have anything that would fit you here." She chuckled pulling on a white coverup.

"Then it seems that I win. You want me to get dressed but don't have any clothes for me to wear, but I don't want to get dressed anyway." I said scooting back down the bed to get comfortable.

Her eyes narrowed fractionally as she dropped the offending article of clothing. Her expression was not amused and she was not taking kindly to my "win." She huffed and exited the room swiftly.

I honestly thought that I had won, but I didn't want to lay in her bed alone, but if I got up to find clothing, she would win. While I was contemplating what I was to do, Rose stuck her head through the door and threw something at me.

"I'll meet you in the water." She said as she closed the door, leaving me sitting up in bed, stunned.

I picked up the thing she'd thrown at me to inspect it. I sighed as I pulled on the swim trunks she'd found in my room. I felt the cool sensation of water lapping at my feet and hurried my steps to join Roza outside.

"Belikov." I heard called out as my foot hit the bottom step. I sighed internally before turning to face Abe as he waited leaning against the wall near the stairs, almost like he was waiting for me.

"Yes, sir?" I asked standing tall, not letting him intimidate me by his cool, seemingly friendly demeanor.

"Would you like to tell me why my daughter is now on the Strigoi's "Most Wanted" list?" He asked feigning casual.

"The Strigoi have a "Most Wanted" list?" I asked stupidly. It was not what he was wanting to hear. I was given an unamused look for my answering question but gave no other response. "Your daughter is a remarkable woman, Mr. Mazur."

"That's a good start, boy, but it doesn't answer my question." He deadpanned, though his eyes held amusement.

"I know that, sir, but I'm getting there. When she was hunting me down in Russia, Roza did a lot of things, killed a lot of Strigoi. That made her a desirable target for any Strigoi to take down. It's not every day you find someone that can take on that many Strigoi and live to tell the tales."

"My Rosemarie did." He said proudly.

"As I said, she's a remarkable woman. She stirred up trouble in Russia, but there aren't many Strigoi left from Galina's empire, my empire, that would have that vendetta against her, but the ones that do remain probably have a strong hatred that's just festered until now."

"Why now?" He asked. With each answer, his casual demeanor shifted into the hard and stony look I'd grown accustomed to seeing on him.

"My guess is that word has got out that she's no longer at Court and has moved out into the human world. Strigoi would think that this would leave her more vulnerable, but she's actually stronger this way."

"Dimitri, why aren't you out here, yet?" I heard Roza call for me. I could practically see the pout she was giving me by her tone of voice.

"Your daughter is calling me," I said inching my way to the door.

"Tell her you'll be out in a minute," Abe said with the hardened expression. I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out his angle and informed Roza of my delay. "So, what you're telling me is that Rose is the target of the entire Strigoi population because of you?"

"No. I'm telling you your daughter is an amazing woman who happens to be the number one target of the entire Strigoi population because she's good at what she does. She's made it her mission to kill as many Strigoi as she can. Her time in Russia could have influenced her decision, but I'm pretty sure that Roza was on this path from the start. Yes, she wanted to guard Vasilisa, but Roza was always destined for something more purposeful. She's strong, and everything that she's had to deal with has just made her stronger." I reply firmly, letting him know that my time as a Strigoi was not my fault and anything that happened to Roza at the time helped her grow stronger.

"I'm just here to let you know that your job just got a lot harder, Belikov," Abe said pushing away from the wall and coming to stand in front of me. Even though I had a few inches on him, he made it seem like he was towering over me. "You better do your job and keep her safe."

"You have my promise, sir. I will protect your daughter until my dying breath." I vowed. We stared at each other for a few more minutes before his glare lessened slightly.

"I'm starting to like you, Dimitri. Don't make me regret it." With that, he turned and walked away. I shook out the tension that had built in my muscles and went outside to find Roza.

She was floating in the ocean, much like she had been my first day here, but this time I could approach her without fear of rejection.

"What took you so long, Comrade?" She asked when I got within earshot of her. The water was cool enough to cause goosebumps to break out on my exposed skin as I waded out further into the water.

"Your father was just informing me that my job was about to get a lot harder," I said grabbing her ankles to pull her closer to me. She righted herself in the water and wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my hips.

"Why would your job be getting harder?" She asked quietly, giving me a beautiful smile that almost made me forget it was my job to protect her. I might be getting paid to keep her safe, but I'd do it without the money. As long as Roza was safe, I'd be happy.

"You've got a price on your head. Your presence in Russia didn't go unnoticed, and now that word has gotten out that you're in the human world, Strigoi are more comfortable with going after you. I'm not sure that they know where you are yet, but you're about to be making a huge dent in New York's Strigoi population so we'll need to be more careful when we're out hunting. The Strigoi will figure out you're here sooner than we think, but I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Roza, you have my promise."

"I'll be okay, Dimitri. As long as I know you're safe, I'll be perfectly fine." She said, never once losing her beautiful smile. "Plus, you'll be beside me the entire time. There's nothing in this world that we can't take on together."

"Wait. You're not at all worried about this?" I asked incredulously. Her smile turned sad before she responded.

"Let's face it, Dimitri. It won't be the first time Strigoi were after me. The difference this time is that you're fighting alongside me." I now understood her sad smile, and I couldn't help the horrible feeling that overtook me.

"I'm so sorry, Roza," I whispered, pain filling each syllable.

"It's okay, Dimitri. It's not your fault, and it never will be. I don't blame you for anything that happened over in Russia. If anything, I'm grateful that it happened and wouldn't change it even if I could. I put myself on their hit list by doing my job, and if that's what it takes to get on that list, I will remain on that list until the day I die." She said gently, lifting my chin so she could look me in the eye.

"If it was in my power, you would never die, but all I can do is keep you safe and living," I said bringing that beautiful smile back to her face. Her happiness filled me as it had the night before. There aren't words powerful enough to explain how much power her happiness gave me. "Is there any emotion from me that makes you feel as strong as I do when you're happy?"

"Your pain has been the most empowering thing, but I hate your pain being there. There was a point last night where I'm pretty sure that it was jealousy I felt from you, but it didn't last long enough for me to get a good taste." She said shifting herself in my arms.

I was getting used to water's temperature. It also helped that I had a warm body latched onto me.

"I'm trying to keep my negative emotions in check," I mumbled petulantly, and she chuckled.

"I'm okay with you being a little jealous, Comrade. As long as it doesn't escalate to physical violence, that is. Though I will admit, you defending my honor would be a huge turn on." She said smiling, running her fingers through my hair and tugging at the ends.

I moaned quietly and tightened my grip on her. Her chest moved gently against mine as she leaned her head on my shoulder. Her fingers kept up their ministrations as she closed her eyes. I laid my cheek on top of her head also closing my eyes.

The movement of her chest as she breathed in and out was synchronized with the gentle motion of the tide. I stood there, just holding her and letting myself enjoy the feeling of her in my arms.

I tried not to think back to a time where I couldn't have her in my arms. I tried to focus on the few times where I got to hold her without fear of someone tearing her away from me. This was one of the few times.

"Don't be sad, Comrade." She whispered against my skin.

"I'm sorry, Roza," I mumbled. "I've wanted this for so long. I didn't think that I'd actually be able to have it. There was a moment before I was turned when I saw you standing in the light right outside the caves where I thought we would be able to make it. It was taken away from me the next second."

"It's okay, Dimitri. I'm here. You're here." She said tightening her grip on me. In return, I tightened my grip on her.

"After I was restored…I couldn't help but think that you wouldn't want me anymore. I pushed you away to keep me from getting hurt. I couldn't bear to think that you would push me away because of what I did to you, so I acted first and did the pushing. I can't express just how much I hate myself for pushing you away. You were the best thing to ever happen in my life. You are the best thing to ever happen to me." I said tightening my grip with every sentence.

At some point during my revelation, I'd buried my head in her wet hair, breathing in her scent mixed with the salty ocean water. I was calmed and reassured by her presence. She was here in my arms, and she wasn't going anywhere without me.

"I love you, Dimitri. We've been through a lot, but nothing, not even the undead, is going to keep us apart. Face it, Comrade, you're stuck with me." She said pulling back. She held my gaze with a gentle smile.

I couldn't help the smile that took over my face.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."


	24. Chapter 24

I knew something was wrong.

I could feel it.

It was like my mind was trying to claw its way out of a pit of quicksand, but with every attempt, I was pulled back further. As the light penetrated my eyelids, a burst of searing pain burst at the back of my skull. My eyes wouldn't open in order for me to survey my surroundings due to the intensity of the light. My muscles tensed at the overwhelming sensation, but I tried to relax so the pain could diminish. The pain remained, though my body was growing accustomed to it.

Despite my body being fully awake due to the rush of pain, my mind was still sluggish, like a part of me wasn't awake yet. I groaned and rolled to my side to start the slow and painful process of trying to sit up. The ground shifted underneath me as I moved, sparking my confusion. I quickly opened my eyes to take in my surroundings.

My ears began taking in sensory input as soon as my eyes opened. The harsh crashing of waves against the shifting sand flooded my senses, letting me know where I was but not how I got there. My body jolted upright despite the pain as I wracked my brain for my most recent memory.

The last thing I remember was holding Roza in my arms. We were just standing in the ocean enjoying the others' embrace. I remember her being so warm and loving. Her smile filled my mind's eye and brought me a moment of peace despite my panic. I didn't remember anything after that. My hand came up to the back of my neck slowly, the pain radiating from the back of my head and my spine, my body aching with each small movement.

The back of my head was tender, and I could feel a sizable lump starting to form on my scalp. My body felt like it had been pummeled as both my muscles and my joints ached. I was having trouble thinking through my memories. My mind was still foggy, only it didn't feel like _my_ mind.

 _Roza._

The whisper at the back of my mind brought me understanding. Our minds and bodies were connected now, but she wasn't here.

I looked around frantically, flipping around onto my knees, running my hands frantically across the sand as if I would find her there. I looked up and down the beach hoping she was somewhere nearby, but I didn't recognize any of the surrounding houses. There was no one on the beach but me.

Roza was nowhere to be found.

Despite me sifting through the surrounding sand, I could still make out footprints leading up the beach. My eyes narrowed at the two lines that followed in between the two sets of footprints.

It was quite plain to see that someone had been dragged between two people up the beach, though the trail would have stopped once they were off the sand. There were at least two people that took Roza, but there was no telling how many they brought as backup.

I scanned the horizon quickly, locating the sun just completing its path above the line where the sea meets the sky in the east.

Morning.

The last time I checked the horizon when I was with Roza, the sun was setting. Roza could have been gone for, potentially, twelve hours, probably less, but that still made her gone. I was giving myself a headache as I tried to focus my mind on retrieving the lost moments between having her in my arms and waking up on the sand.

I leapt to my feet in frustration, ignored the pain I felt run through me, and looked up and down the coastline, hoping that something would look familiar enough to point me in the direction of the house. I tugged at my hair as my head swiveled back and forth between my two options.

I couldn't follow Roza. She'd most likely been transferred into a vehicle once whoever took her got off the beach. I didn't know if I could find the house without some direction. This section of the beach didn't look familiar to me, which was odd considering how often Roza and I ran by the water's edge.

Right before I started walking to the right, my eyes caught movement to my left. The harder I starred, the more focused the figures became, but I realized that the figures were coming closer. My eyes found four people jogging toward me.

I felt myself fall naturally into a defensive stance until they were close enough to distinguish who was running. My body didn't relax, however, when I took in their identities, none of which were Roza.

Christopher was the first to reach me, his stake drawn as his eyes darted all around me. A wild look that mirrored my own inner turmoil lived in his eyes when they finally fell on me.

"Where is she, Belikov?" Jasper asked in a panicked tone as Sydney looked at me with the same imploring question.

"I don't know," I mumbled, not wanting to admit what I already knew.

"She was with you, right? Where could she have gone?" Sydney asked in a more panicked voice than Jasper. Her eyes were wide as they darted around us, looking for Roza.

"I don't know," I responded yet again.

"Well, what happened?" Kyle asked, his stake also drawn as he moved around me as if I could be hiding her.

"I don't know," I said, my anxiety leaking through slightly.

"You don't know?" Christopher questioned in a tense voice. "What does that mean? You don't know? What do you mean you don't know?!"

"I mean that I don't know," I growled in frustration. "I can't remember what happened. Before waking up on the beach, I was holding Roza in my arms. I woke up here in pain with no Roza! Those tracks suggest she was taken forcefully, but I don't know how that was possible. There is no way that the two of us could have been taken down, especially not Roza."

"While I'm sure that would be true in a normal case, I doubt even you could have prevented what happened," Sydney said, worry filling her voice as she took my arm down from where I'd been anxiously rubbing at my face.

She ran her thumb over a sensitive area on my forearm that caused me to flinch. When I looked down, there was a barely noticeable puncture wound. I don't even know how she managed to see it with the way I was moving my arm.

"If I had to guess, you two were drugged. The drug most likely knocked Rose out almost immediately, but I'm guessing you fought back because it didn't take hold of you as quickly, which is probably why you look so horrible right now." She said quietly, her digit still circling the blemish on my skin.

"Why wouldn't the drug have taken effect immediately on me as it had on her?" I asked with scrunched up eyebrows.

"Dude. You're a Russian giant built like a steel tank." Jasper replied monotonously. I couldn't help but wince. Roza had been taken because she was smaller than I was. Whatever drug had been used only took her down because her body was perfect. Of course, I should have been able to fight harder, I should have been able to protect her.

"We have to find her," I said, pain filling my voice as I looked at each of them in turn.

"Dimitri." Kyle began slowly. "We don't have any idea of where she is or where she could be. We don't know who took her. We don't even know if-"

"No! She's alive!" I exclaimed before Kyle had the chance to voice my fear. "I can feel her. She's still alive, but she's not awake yet. The drug, if that's what it is, hasn't worn off yet. Maybe because I'm the Russian giant, the drug metabolized quicker and I woke up sooner, but Roza…Roza's body belies her strength, but she won't be able to fight this off as quickly as I did."

"Alright," Christopher said, actually being the calm one right now. I could only imagine the look of distress that had taken over my features to have all four of them looking the picture of cool and collected. "We need you to try to remember."

"I've been doing that since I woke up here, but all I've accomplished was giving myself a headache," I said crestfallen.

"Sydney, take him back to the house and see if you can help him," Jasper said gently, eyeing me with thinly veiled concern. "We're going to see if we can follow these tracks and maybe talk to some of the people in these houses."

"No. I can't go back to the house, not without Roza." I exclaimed in a panic, wincing when the pain at the back of my head flared.

"Dimitri. You're not going to be of any help right now. Abe is worried sick about both of you, surprisingly, but we need you to remember more than we need you to be searching for her. You're the only link we have to know she's still alive. We need you to focus on finding her with the information only you have, we'll worry about tracking her." Kyle said gently pushing me back in the direction of the house.

Sydney still had a hold of my arm and was also trying to coax me back to the house. My anxiety grew as I thought about having to tell Abe that I'd lost his daughter. It was my job to keep her safe, and now I didn't know where she was. She certainly wasn't safe right now, no matter who she was with at the moment. If she wasn't with me, she wasn't safe.

But it was because of me that she wasn't safe at the moment. This is my fault.

"Don't beat yourself up, Dimitri," Sydney said, breaking me out of my self-destructive thoughts, or maybe I'd said them aloud. "It isn't your fault. There wasn't anything you could have done to stop it. Even someone like you can't fight off drugs as powerful as the ones I'm sure they gave you."

"I just need to remember. I can't be sure if it was Strigoi or Moroi or Dhampir or human. The last memory I have, the sun was still out, but that doesn't tell me much because I've been out all night. She's the target of Strigoi at the moment, but then again, so am I. Why wouldn't they have taken me? Humans could have been doing it to help the Strigoi, but Roza isn't necessarily the poster girl for Moroi or Dhampir, either. I just need to remember."

"I think I might have something to help you with that, but you need to trust me and stay focused on finding her and bringing her back home. Don't let yourself get bogged down with the what if's. She's going to be fine, you know her. She won't stop fighting until she's back by your side." Sydney said determinedly.

I was distracted the rest of the way back to the house trying to remember what had happened. The steady thumping in my head increased with each attempt until all I could hear was the pounding in my ears. The cool air from the house as I entered alleviated some of the pain I was experiencing, but as I looked up into the eyes of my love's father, the pain returned full force.

"Dimitri." He said in a broken voice. Pavel stiffened beside him as I braced myself to deliver that news.

"I don't know where she is, Abe." I managed to whisper.

"Both Rose and Dimitri were drugged," Sydney said, stepping in to keep the blame off of me. "Rose was taken. I'm going to help Dimitri get his memory back so he can help us know who took her and where she might be."

"Let me know how I can help," Abe said after a few moments of silence. I watched in amazement as the sorrowful look that had first greeted me morphed into steely determination.

"I will do everything I can to bring her back," I said squaring my shoulders. I fed off the hope that he held onto and used it to fuel my own dwindling supply. Without Roza here beside me, I was slipping and I was slipping fast.

Both Abe and Pavel nodded sharply at me before Sydney led me upstairs into Roza's room. While I was curious about the process Sydney was going to go through to help me regain my memories, I had to trust that she knew what she was doing. I had to trust her to help me get my Roza back.

"Lay down on the bed and close your eyes." She instructed. I paused momentarily, but not long enough for Sydney to notice. When I closed my eyes, I was overcome with the feelings of Roza.

I could feel her with me, though her mind wasn't awake still. I felt her hands bound behind her and the sensation of cold metal was on her left side. I clenched my fists trying to quell my anger at the person or person's responsible for her situation.

"Separate yourself from Rose and focus on the here and now," Sydney instructed, her stern voice filtering through my angry haze. With great reluctance and difficulty, I pulled myself away from Roza's feelings and sensations.

I focused on the feeling of the bed underneath me. My ears registered the soft footfalls of Sydney's light pacing and the quiet voices that drifted up from below. I focused on my pain, both physical and emotional. My body was aching and sluggish from fighting off my attackers and the drug.

I longed for Roza.

It took so much for me to not focus on Roza. She was my everything. I had to find her. I had to bring her back. Without her, there was no me. She made me a better person, and I was convinced that I made her a better person. We were a team, a partnership. We worked as two halves of a whole.

We need each other.

"Focus on your last memory of the two of you together on the beach," Sydney said quietly. Her instructions got quieter and quieter, but, somehow, I still heard her through the fog of my memory.

Her big brown eyes peered up at me through thick lashes. The sound of her giggles flitted around my mind an intoxicating manner. Her scent wrapped me in its comforting embrace. Her mouth moved in a question, and I found myself nodding in agreeance.

I carried her back to the shore and placed her down with a gentle kiss to her soft lips. Her loving smile never left her face as she looked away from my intense gaze with a slight blush on her cheeks.

She wound her fingers through mine and pulled me behind her as she slowly made her way down the beach. My eyes remained fixated on her swaying hair as the salty breeze twirled it around her head. Her steps were light and bouncy and her countenance was content.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she stopped abruptly, bringing a hand up to her neck. She turned to me with a confused expression with a small feathered dart in between her index finger and thumb.

I saw a small bead of blood on the side of her neck and was just reaching my hand up to inspect it when a prick in my arm caused me to jerk away. I quickly pulled out the dart that had lodged itself into my arm and threw it into the shifting sand.

My head swiveled slower than usual in the direction the darts had come from. Two men were making their way toward us. They moved like trained professionals. Their demeanor screamed Guardian, which is probably why I hesitated long enough for them to reach us.

"Comrade." Roza's weak voice called out. I tried to catch her as she fell, but was stopped by the two men. My adrenaline kicked in long enough for me to land a few punches of my own as the two men worked to further subdue me.

I guess they didn't give me a high enough dose or they didn't expect me to fight back as hard as I did. I caught a fleeting fearful look that passed between the two of them before I was distracted by my Roza laying still in the sand.

My distraction allowed for a painful thud to be landed against the back of my skull. I had enough time to mutter an apology to Roza before I blacked out completely. The last thing I saw before falling into complete oblivion was the two men dragging Roza to a car that was waiting at a nearby house.

I couldn't see much as the edges of my vision started closing in, but I saw the standard black Guardian vehicle that was to take my Roza away from me.

"Dimitri?" I heard call out to me, but it wasn't my Roza. The voice wasn't as sweet as my Roza. It was harsher and more annoyed. My eyebrows scrunched in confusion as I tried to place the voice.

As soon as the black edges of my vision met in the middle, I shot up. Coming back to my senses, I was in Roza's room. My breathing was labored and my expression was still confused as I looked up at Sydney.

I now understood where the voice was coming from.

"What?" I asked after calming myself down a little.

"What did you remember?" She asked perching on the edge of the bed and looking at me intently.

"I remember everything. It was two Guardians that took her, but they weren't dressed like Guardians. My guess is that they were either privately hired or chose not to dress in their uniform to avoid suspicion."

"Guardians? What would Guardians want with Rose?" She asked, her expression turning thoughtful.

"I don't know. They were driving a standard Guardian vehicle, so perhaps you can, or Abe can, look into which vehicles would have been loaned out and used up here. I can't be sure, but I think most of the vehicles have GPS tracking unless they were smart enough to disable it." I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration.

"If they were Guardians, they could be working for someone. I doubt that Guardians would just kidnap one of their own on a whim, and there's no way a Guardian would be working with Strigoi. There has to be someone behind it. Either the Guardian Council or a Moroi." I said after processing more of the information.

"What reason would the Guardian Council have for kidnapping her in this fashion? If they wanted her, couldn't they just have contacted her, either directly or indirectly?" Sydney asked as she went back to her quiet pacing.

"Unless they were trying to get rid of her quietly," I mumbled. "But even that wouldn't make sense. If they wanted to get rid of her, there would be no point in drugging her and taking her to a secondary location. If they wanted her dead, they would have just shot her and been done with it."

"Alright, so maybe it isn't the Guardian Council. What Moroi would need Rose?"

"I can't think of any Moroi that would need Rose. We're stuck in the same place we were with the Guardian Council. If they needed to contact her, they could have. If they wanted her dead, they would have just killed her."

"Well, maybe they weren't looking to kill. Rose is really powerful and has a lot of powerful people that are dedicated to her. Perhaps she's been taken as some sort of leverage? We could be waiting for a ransom demand." Sydney said hopefully, but I couldn't find it in myself to feel the same hope.

"If we're waiting for ransom, wouldn't they have contacted us by now?" I asked.

"Not necessarily. They could be waiting until they reach a safer place, or they could be waiting for their boss to reach the location that they chose."

"So, what do we do? Just wait?" I asked incredulously.

"Unless the boys find something useful in their search, we have to wait until either Abe or I can scrounge up enough information to get a decent idea of where Rose is. All I can ask is that you try to keep a level head and let us take it from here. We're going to need you focused when we go in to get her. You're no good to her if you can't think straight."

"I can't lose her, Sydney," I whispered. "We have to get her back."

"We're going to get her back." She said gently, placing a hand on my shoulder before leaving the room.

I let my mind play through the last memories that I had. With every iteration, the faces of the men became clearer and clearer, but I still didn't recognize them. I hadn't met either of them, but that wasn't strange at all considering the, while dwindling, numbers of Guardians scattered across the globe.

The men seemed to recognize me, but that wasn't strange due to the publicity that I received upon my restoration. However, these men didn't look like they expected to find me with Roza. Of course, there aren't many who know I've left Court, and those that do don't know I've taken up a position with Abe in New York.

My head was once again aching, but this time it was due to me trying to figure out who took her. I couldn't think of one person who would do this. A sense of hopelessness overtook me as I ran out of potential kidnappers.

I just needed to find her, soon.

 _Roza, where are you?_


	25. Chapter 25

There was a flicker of thought at the back of my mind that had me jumping to my feet in an instant. It was the first conscious thought that led to several others.

For the past two hours, I'd been listening to what I'm sure was Pavel and Abe discussing, in great detail, what they were going to do to Roza's kidnappers. However, they were speaking in Turkish, so I couldn't be sure, but I liked to imagine that was the topic of discussion.

Abe immediately halted in his frustrated, angry pacing and spun to face me with an expectant look. The conversation stopped as abruptly as my movement. Pavel pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning against and took a few steps toward me. I'm sure that it wasn't meant to be threatening, but after hours of working myself into an anxious state I couldn't help but shrink back at his advancement.

"What is it, Dimitri?" Abe asked, the hope that had lived in his voice shining through. "Is it Rose?"

"I think so. I can feel Roza waking up. At least, I think that's what it was. I don't know everything to expect with this mysterious bond we've formed. However, her mind is coming back into focus." I said sitting back down hastily. I closed my eyes and focused on Roza's senses, trying to get into her mind, hoping to get enough from her surroundings to know where she was.

I could hear her fleeting thoughts as she tried to make sense of her surroundings without being able to see anything. A dull ache of pain ran through me, a familiar pain the drug, which Sydney had informed us was most likely Midazolam, caused when the body was trying to fight it off.

Sydney said that it had to be a pretty high dosage to be administered via dart and keep us knocked out for more than twelve hours. It seemed that the Guardians didn't expect me to be there at all considering I probably received the same dosage as Roza, resulting in a slower percolating time and a faster metabolic response.

My chest ached when Roza groaned as she tried to roll onto her back. She'd remained still on her left side for the hours that had past, and the dull ache of pain was more apparent on that side.

Unlike when I came to, Roza didn't panic when she woke up in an unfamiliar place without me. Remaining on her back despite the uncomfortable position for her arms and hands, Roza opened her eyes and looked around.

I couldn't see anything through her eyes, I just got feelings and thoughts that filtered through her mind. I cataloged the objects she took note of: no windows, one door, one metal chair, one overhead flickering light, and an uncomfortable, cold cement floor.

She strained her ears but didn't hear anything. I was bouncing my knee up and down hoping to clue in on something that could help me locate her, but if she saw anything that could indicate where she was, there was no way I could find out.

She pulled herself off the floor far enough to sit up and lean back against a wall, facing the door. The longer she waited in silence, the more her anger grew. She was weak, though, and her anger gave way to exhaustion.

Still trying to fight off the side effects of the drug, she didn't have anything to feed off of to regain her strength. There was no one nearby to feed off of emotionally, and there wasn't any food in the room to feed off of physically.

I chuckled internally as her stomach growled loudly. It was pleasant to hear something so familiar in such an unfamiliar and frightening situation. I could feel her becoming more fidgety. I could also hear Abe and Pavel questioning me loudly, but neither of them touched me in fear of breaking the trace I'd worked myself into.

 _"Dimitri?"_ I heard her hesitantly ask.

 _"Roza? Are you okay?"_ I asked quickly, pushing my thought through.

 _"How is this possible?"_ She asked, the awe present in the four words.

 _"We'll worry about that later. Are you okay?"_ I asked yet again.

 _"I'm tired. I'm cold. I'm hungry."_ She said, listing the most relevant information.

 _"I don't know if I can do about the hunger or the cold, but perhaps I'll be able to send something across this bond to give you energy?"_ I suggested.

 _"You're going to have to figure out how to send a lot of a negative emotion over because I'm going to need it to fight my way out of here."_ She chuckled mirthlessly.

 _"Don't try to fight your way out, Roza. You don't know how many people you'll have to fight through. We're going to find you. Save your energy until we find you."_ I said firmly.

 _"How are you going to find me, Comrade? I don't know where I am, and there's nothing in this room to indicate any sort of location. I could be states away from you or in a different country completely. How can you be so sure that you're going to find me?"_ She said gently, as if she was trying to let me know not to waste my time.

 _"No, Roza. We're going to find you. I'm going to find you. You worry about staying safe and alive, I'll worry about finding you."_ I growled. I felt her shiver, and a spark of desire ran through her body fueling my determination and my energy level.

 _"Wait, how did you do that?"_ She asked quickly.

 _"Do what?"_ I asked confused.

 _"You took my desire."_ She said somewhat annoyed.

 _"I did?"_ I asked, still confused.

 _"Yes, and now I want to know how you did it."_ She demanded.

 _"I don't know how I did it. You're the one that has the experience with bonds. Maybe you can take my emotions the same way you would take the Darkness from Lissa."_ I theorized.

 _"I can try that. Do you have a particular emotion you'd like me to take from you?"_ She asked.

 _"I've got enough fear to power a city, so I'd start with that."_ I chuckled. I felt her roll her eyes, but I soon felt my fear slipping away, left only with a steely determination to find my Roza.

 _"That feels good."_ She moaned.

 _"I'm glad you enjoy my fear,"_ I said sarcastically with a small chuckle.

 _"Is my dad okay?"_ She asked quietly after a few moments of hesitation. _"And Pavel?"_

 _"He wasn't, to begin with, but I'm pretty sure he and Pavel have been talking about nothing but bloody dismemberment since I confirmed you were missing."_ I relayed.

 _"That sounds like them."_ Roza snickered.

 _"I miss you, Roza. I'm going to find you."_ I said pulling myself back from her mind slightly. I left my presence there, but I opened my eyes.

Abe, Pavel, and Sydney were crouched in front of me, staring at me with hope shining in their eyes.

"Rose is awake, but there's nothing in the room she's in that can indicate where she is," I told them. Sydney's hopeful expression fell as she sat back on her haunches. Abe and Pavel looked ready to commit murder. Abe shot up and began his pacing once again.

His Turkish ramblings were halted again as Kyle, Jasper, and Christopher trudged through the back door. Everyone, myself included, turned to look at them, questions buzzed around unasked as they took a few seconds to take us in.

"We found something, but we don't know how useful it will be," Kyle stated looking at Abe and avoiding eye contact with me. I narrowed my eyes at him before noticing that all three of the men were avoiding direct eye contact with me.

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked quietly, though my voice was tense and commanding.

"When was the last time you slept, Dimitri?" Jasper asked, avoiding my question.

"With Roza, and the next time I'll sleep will be with Roza by my side! Now, why won't you look at me?" I asked, my voice starting out soft but growing louder with each word. By the time I finished, I was shouting, or growling depending on how you look at it, and everyone was looking at me with wide eyes.

"We talked to the neighbors to see if they heard anything," Christopher said, breaking his stare, and reverting back to avoiding eye contact.

"And?" Abe asked anxiously, his patience already worn thin and getting thinner.

"They heard shouting around the time that Dimitri thinks the two Guardians took Rose. While they didn't go out to investigate the source of the argument, they did overhear most of it. Apparently, the two men were wondering if they should, quote, 'deal with the monster.' We believe that the 'monster' in question was you, Dimitri, though the neighbors thought they might be talking about some fish or shark they'd caught. The neighbors said that the men eventually decided to leave you and get as far away from you as possible. Apparently, their boss hadn't warned them of your presence and would inform them at a later date." Kyle explained. "Of course, we didn't inform them of the real identity of the monster outside their house.

"So, the kidnappers changed their plans because of me," I stated, my shoulders slumping in defeat. "Rose could have been kept nearby had I not gotten in their way."

"So it seems," Christopher mumbled sitting down and wiping a hand over his face in exhaustion. All three of them looked exhausted, but like myself, they were hesitant to sleep without Roza being safe and sound.

"If they had to change their plans, that means that they probably made a mistake along the way. They didn't know that Dimitri was there, so whoever is watching Rose knew that she would be here, but not Dimitri. This person as not received updated information on who is with Rose in a few weeks, or these Guardians didn't think your presence was notable and didn't relay it back to their employer." Abe theorized, his pacing returning with vigor.

"I don't see how, or why, the Guardians wouldn't think that Dimitri's presence wouldn't be worth noting. He's been with Rose almost constantly and just looks like a threat. There's no way a decent Guardian wouldn't note Dimitri's presence to an employer." Pavel commented, his head swiveling as he watched his Moroi pace with a calm demeanor.

It seemed that Pavel knew that Abe paced when he got anxious, and when Abe got anxious, Abe started planning. However, it was Abe's planning that I was counting on right now. I couldn't plan anything myself because my mind was with Roza, but I could follow instructions well enough to be useful.

"So, the information that the Guardians had to go off of is definitely not current. Do you know if Rose told anyone where she was going?" Abe asked, spinning on his heal to face me.

"I don't think so. I know that Lord Ivashkov stopped by to see her before she left, but I don't know how much she told him. Princess Dragomir and Lord Ozera didn't know, they were just as shocked as I was that Rose just up and left like she did, but I have a feeling that Roza would have contacted Guardian Castile to let him know she was alright, but I doubt that she told him where she was, nor would he have pressed her for the information as long as he knew she was safe wherever she was." I said, running through the list of people Roza could have possibly told her location. "She would have informed Guardian Croft that she was leaving, but, again, I doubt that she would have given him a location."

"What's the likelihood of this Guardian Castile helping us figure out who could have taken her?" Abe asked after a moment of silent contemplation.

"I'm confident that Eddie would do anything to bring Roza home," I answered almost immediately.

"Contact him. Tell him to be ready in an hour. My plane will collect him and bring him here." Abe said, waving his hand to dismiss me.

I bound up the steps three at a time and burst through the door of my room in search of my cell phone. I noticed several missed calls and texts from various people, but I ignored them trying to find the right contact.

I hit a few buttons before pressing the call button and waited impatiently for the call to connect. I was faintly aware of Roza's plotting as she sat in silence waiting for someone to enter the room. She was just as impatient as I was.

"Guardian Headquarters, Hans speaking." Said the gruff voice that came through the other end.

"Guardian Croft. This is Dimitri Belikov." I replied quickly, hoping to get this call over with quickly so I could call Eddie, but I had no such luck.

"Ah, Belikov, nice to hear from you. How's the family?" He asked in a friendly tone.

"I wouldn't know. Before I could get on the plane, my grandmother called me and told me not to come." I chuckled.

"Then where have you been for the past few weeks?" He asked in bewilderment.

"I've been working for Abe Mazur as a personal Guardian for his daughter," I informed him.

"I'm sure that Rose loved that." He laughed. My stunned silence made him continue. "I know more about that girl than you'd think. So, what can I help you with, Dimitri? I'm not really sure that I can get you your job back here at Court, but I can see what I can do."

"No!" I exclaimed quickly, over my previous shock. "I don't want my Court job back. I was hoping you could give me Guardian Castile's personal number. I have a few questions I want to ask, and he's the only one that has the answers."

"I suppose I can do that, just as long as you give Rose my best." He said chuckling. I heard the shuffling of drawers and flittering of paper before Hans asked if I have a pen and paper. It was then my turn to scramble around my room looking for a writing utensil.

"Alright, give it to me," I said, listening carefully to the following numbers. "Thank you, Guardian Croft. I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem, Belikov. Take care." He said, not giving me enough time to thank him again before hanging up. Not giving it a second thought, I immediately dialed the number I was given and once again waited impatiently for the call to connect and for Eddie to pick up.

"Castile." The tired voice came through the other end. It hit me then that he would have been asleep, it was the dead of night for him, even though the sun was at its highest in the sky. That made me wonder why Croft was awake, but I didn't stop to ponder it too long.

"Eddie? It's Dimitri Belikov." I said.

"Belikov. It's been a while, but not long enough in my opinion. Why are you calling me? How did you even get my number?" He asked, the hostility in his voice quickly replacing the remnants of sleep. I'm guessing Roza hadn't talked to him in a while.

"I got your number from Guardian Croft. I'm calling you because I need your help." I said, trying to keep my annoyance out of my voice; I don't think it worked.

"After what you did to Rose? Why would I have any inclination to help you?"

"Roza is missing and I need your help to find her," I stated plainly. There was a silence on the other end of the line. I heard shuffling and a violent zipper pulling closed.

"Where should I meet you?" He asked, his previous hostility replaced with determination and worry.

"There will be a plane waiting for you at the airstrip in an hour. It will bring you here." I said, glad that he didn't ask any more questions because I was in no state to answer them. The façade that I had adopted when talking to Croft had fallen as soon as he hung up.

I didn't need to hide my anxiety and concern with Eddie, in fact, I hoped that by my obvious display of emotions, he would understand the depth of feeling I have for Roza, and his assumptions of my indifference were ill-conceived.

"I'll see you then. And, Dimitri, we will be having a discussion about the cause of Rose's sudden departure from Court. It will be a long in-depth discussion that will probably leave you in pain." He said and hung up.

So, Roza had only told the three Guardians here what I'd done to make her flee. She hadn't even told Eddie, her closest friend. Flashes of the horrible day passed in the back of my mind, trying to push their way to the front. My heart clenched as the slideshow of horror paused on the image of my Roza, broken and dull.

 _"Dimitri?"_ Roza pushed through in a panic, probably sensing my pain.

 _"Yeah?"_ I replied, trying to calm myself down.

 _"What's wrong?"_ She asked gently. Despite only being two words, her voice bounced around my mind, soothing as it went.

 _"I'm fine, Roza,"_ I replied making my way back downstairs to inform Abe of Eddie's arrive and receive instructions for the meantime.

 _"Liar."_ She mumbled but didn't push the issue further.

 _"Roza, do you have any idea about who could have taken you?"_ I asked secretly hoping that she knew more than I did.

 _"Not really. I mean, I've made a lot of enemies, but I didn't think that any of them would ever kidnap me because of it. I didn't get a good look at the guys who knocked us out, 'cause you know, I was knocked out, but I think they were Guardians."_ She said.

 _"I also thought so, but that still doesn't narrow any list of potential kidnappers. Of course, it would help if we had an actual list of potential kidnappers."_ I sighed reaching the bottom of the stairs.

Abe and Pavel looked up at my entrance, giving me a questioning look. I held up my finger to signal them to wait before pointing to my head. They both nodded in understanding before turning back to each other to continue their previous conversation.

 _"You know, it isn't entirely uncommon for Guardians to leave Court and work privately."_ She theorized, perhaps starting a list of potential kidnappers.

 _"We already thought about that, but they were driving a Guardian issued vehicle. Most of the time, privately hired Guardians drive what their employer provides, which is usually anything but the Guardian issued vehicle, other than Abe of course."_ I said, my eyes cutting to the man himself. The mischievous glint that burned in Roza's eyes could be found in her fathers,' making me believe that it was genetic.

 _"Why is it that Abe doesn't provide more distinct modes of transportation, other than for myself,"_ Roza asked, amusement lacing her words.

 _"I'm pretty sure it's because it would be less conspicuous to see a standard Guardian vehicle than a flashy sports car. It can also throw the trail off of Abe because there's no way to tell if it was Abe's men versus Court-sanctioned Guardians."_ I explained, trying to think of anyone I knew who hired privately that might want to kidnap Roza but still coming up empty.

 _"Is it possible that I was kidnapped because of Abe's business?"_ Roza asked quietly after a few moments of thoughtful contemplation.

"Abe, is it possible that Roza's kidnapping is a consequence an unfortunate business dealing?" I asked finding a lot of weight behind Roza's train of thought.

"It's possible," Abe said, his face dropping in worry. "However, none of my competitors would have been thoughtless enough to not acquire up-to-date information about who was around Rose at the time. I also don't know of anyone else that sends their Guardians out in the standard vehicle."

"Is it possible that some of your Guardians kidnapped her?" I asked looking at Pavel for my answer instead of Abe.

"There's always the possibility. If they did plan something, it will be a lot easier to track their movements and see who it was." Pavel said, pulling out his phone and leaving the room.

 _"We're looking into something, Roza. Are you doing alright?"_ I asked trying to delve deeper into her physical sensations.

 _"I'm fine, Comrade, just bored out of my skull. I've heard a few sets of footsteps passing outside the room. It seems to be regular enough, and the gate of the steps sounds like a Guardian. I'm assuming whoever took me is still here, probably waiting for someone."_ She said with a sigh, pulling more of my fear, not because she needed it, but because I didn't need it.

 _"Just hang tight, Pavel is checking on something, and I'm pretty sure that Sydney might be hacking into the Guardian's system at Court to see if any vehicles were loaned out anywhere near here,"_ I informed her.

 _"I'm just ready to be back in bed with you. I really want to take a nap, but there isn't a chance in hell that I'm going to take a nap here."_ Roza joked, trying to lighten the mood. I suppose it worked, it did make me feel a little bit better knowing that she could still make light of this situation.

 _"Trust me, Roza, I'm more than ready to be back in bed with you,"_ I said lowly, the shiver that ran through her body buzzed through mine.

 _"Hold that thought, Comrade, I think someone is going to come in the room,"_ Roza said, her desire draining completely, replaced only by anger. I felt her shock grow just as Pavel entered the room with a murderous look on his face.

"There was someone that was planning something, and it makes sense that he didn't have any recent information. However, he has to be working for someone because we let him go weeks ago." Pavel growled.

"Who is it?" I asked, my head swiveling and my anger growing as I watched the man pace, but before Pavel could respond, Roza told me exactly who we were looking for, except I didn't know who it was.

 _"Guardian Nelson?"_

* * *

 _Hey guys,_

 _I've decided with my crazy semester, I'm switching my updating day to Sunday._

 _I would also like to say that I truly appreciate each and every review that I get. I can't get myself into the habit of responded personally to each review, but I still want to say thank you to everyone that has reviewed so far._

 _I hope you all have a wonderful day!_

~Victoria


	26. Chapter 26

"Who is Guardian Nelson?" I asked, looking back and forth between Pavel and Abe, trying to keep myself in my own body rather than Roza's. Her anger quickly grew from her shock, pulling every ounce of fear from my body to give her strength.

Both Pavel and Abe were too busy spewing murderous thoughts in Turkish to answer my question, and I didn't want to distract Roza who was currently in the presence of the mysterious Guardian Nelson.

Abe pulled out his phone and started tapping the screen violently. Pavel followed his lead and also turned to the device in his hand violently. Because of the loud Turkish yelling, Christopher, Jasper, Sydney, and Kyle came running up the stairs.

"What's going on?" Kyle asked, looking to me because I was the only one not violently handling a communication device.

"Pavel figured out who took Roza, but he thinks they're working for someone else. Do you know who Guardian Nelson is?" I asked looking between the four of them. Sydney looked as lost as I felt, but the other three adopted the same murderous looks that Abe and Pavel had previously.

"Guardian Nelson took her?" Christopher asked with a clenched jaw.

"That's what Roza said. Who is he?" I asked again, growing more annoyed as my question went unanswered.

"He was a Guardian at the house, for a day, at least. He overstepped his boundaries with Rose and was sent to a different location." Kyle informed me with an angry fire burning in his eyes. "I don't know what happened to him from there."

"He was forcefully removed from the property I'd reassigned him to because he was trying to stir up trouble amongst the other Guardians. I fired him and sent him on his way. I never thought that he would be picked up so quickly." Pavel muttered, filling in the information that Kyle couldn't.

"So, this Guardian Nelson has my Roza, but you don't know who he is working for, where he is, or why he took her?" I asked, trying to keep a calm mind, but with each unanswered question, I felt my blood begin to boil. I could feel Roza struggling against her bindings the longer Guardian Nelson stayed in the room, but he seemed to be the only one dealing with her. Perhaps it was because his employer didn't want her to know who they were.

"We're working on it, but it doesn't help that Nelson knows how we operate to keep a lower profile, so he's had a little bit of a head start on covering his tracks," Abe grumbled, still punching at his phone violently.

"Is there anything I can do within the Alchemists to help find her?" Sydney asked wringing her hands.

"I'm not sure if your people keep track of specific Guardians, but if you could perhaps check to see on the off-chance they do. His first name is Tyler." Pavel said barely glancing up from his phone. Sydney left in a blur, and I couldn't help but feel useless.

I was sitting here waiting to discover who had taken my Roza. I couldn't do anything until I knew where she was, and I hated it. I dove back into Roza's mind, trying to understand what possessed this Guardian to abduct another.

Rose was currently spewing a long string of cuss words in his direction. However, despite her best glare, Guardian Nelson's 'smug-ass little face' (Roza's thoughts not mine) stayed frozen in amusement.

 _"I'm going to kill him, Dimitri,"_ Roza growled in my mind once she realized I had rejoined her.

 _"Before you do anything too rash, perhaps you could discover his motives. We still have no idea where you are or why he would have taken you. We need time, and we need answers. Try to get him talking from your end. We're doing everything we can from this one."_ I sent back, trying to open the bond further.

I knew that Roza had the ability to see through Lissa's eyes at times, and I wanted to possess the same ability. I needed to see this, pardon my language, motherfucker with my own eyes. I want to know what the man I'd be hunting looked like. I needed to know his face, so I could be sure to slam my fist into it repeatedly the first chance I got.

It felt slightly intrusive, pushing past Roza's mental barriers, but once she understood my intentions, she dropped them for me. All at once, I was surrounded by concrete walls. My nose was assaulted by stale air, and my body shivered from the cold air.

In front of us stood a man that demanded attention. His shoulders were pulled back as were his lips into a cocky smirk. I had to agree with Roza that his face was a little smug. He was tall, though still a few inches shorter than me, but his build wasn't sturdy enough to match which left him with an overall lanky sort of look.

He had muscle, just not enough to offset his height in an aesthetically pleasing manner. His hair brushed the tops of his ears, but it was oily, giving his normally brown hair an almost black coloring.

As Roza continued in her spew of insults, his lips pulled back from his teeth, revealing a set of yellowish, off-kilter teeth that sort of begged to be knocked out. His facial features were sharp, leaving shadows in all the right places to give him a sinister sort of vibe.

If I didn't know that he was the man that took my Roza, I probably would have suspected him just based off of appearances alone. His arms were crossed over his chest while he relaxed against the wall furthest from where Roza had managed to prop herself up.

 _"Information, Roza."_ I reminded firmly, halting Roza in the middle of a particularly nasty insult. She growled at me mentally, and if it weren't such a serious situation, I would have thought it cute.

"What do you want, Tyler?" She growled in question, the vision narrowing in her furious glare.

"I want what I wanted the first moment I knew I was going to be living in a house with _The_ Rose Hathaway. I want you, my dear. I've always been one for the chase, which Pavel unknowingly started when he sent me away, and you were the perfect prey." He explained easily, his cocky grin growing as he spoke. His eyes were dancing in a dangerous way, and I felt my entire body tense as I realized the kind of man Guardian Nelson really was.

The Hunter.

I'd run across a few of them in my time as a Guardian, most didn't last very long in the field. Most of the time they were Unpromised, or if they were Promised, they were working privately. Men like Abe Mazur valued them because they weren't afraid of a challenge or getting their hands dirty should the need arise, but they usually got themselves in unneeded trouble, or worse – killed.

They loved the thrill of the chase. Stalking the prey from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. They tend to become obsessed should their prey allude them for too long or if they come up against a particularly challenging opponent, and I hate to say that Roza is the perfect prey.

She's strong, both physically and mentally, and she has a knack for getting herself out of sticky situations. That's one of the reasons people know her name. She's a fighter. She's known throughout Russia as the Angel of Death because she looks like an angel yet deals death with little hesitation.

I didn't know what game Guardian Nelson was playing. Usually, Hunters enjoy the game of cat-and-mouse. They'll get close enough to their victim to let their presence be known then back off to chase, like a cat toying with a mouse. However, Nelson just took Roza. There wasn't any kind of game involved there, and I'm failing to see where one could start now.

"Well, you've got me now." Roza sneered. "Though, I'm going to make sure you regret every second of it."

"That was the response I was hoping for." He responded, his grin becoming far too wide for any one person to handle. "You're a fighter, Rose, so I'm going to make you fight."

"You won't win in a fight against me." Roza scoffed, though her body tensed for a fight. Her hands were bound, so if Guardian Nelson intended on fighting Roza now it wouldn't be fair, not that Roza wouldn't win either way.

"Oh, you won't be fighting me. I've seen you fight, and that was against twelve highly trained Guardians. No, I'm going to watch you fight twelve Strigoi. No weapons, no help." The vision field widened, so I knew that Roza's eyes widened at his revelation, though I knew it wasn't out of shock. However, Guardian Nelson took it as such.

 _"Comrade, he doesn't know,"_ Roza whispered quickly.

 _"Doesn't know what?"_ I asked just as hurriedly.

 _"He doesn't know what I can do with the Darkness. He's only seen me fight hand-to-hand. I didn't know my Darkness could manifest itself until after you arrived, long after Tyler had been kicked out."_ She said as she watched the manically laughing Guardian exit the room.

 _"That's a good thing, they won't see it coming. You can use it to your advantage."_ I responded.

 _"No. It is my advantage, but if I use it then they'll know. Besides, I can't kill Strigoi with my Darkness, not without the help of your Light."_ Rose relaxed back against the wall, still bound as her thoughts began to churn. _"If I get hurt, you're the one that's going to feel it."_

 _"That's okay, Roza. Just let them think that you're injured, it could help you in the long run."_ I said quickly, knowing that I would much rather feel the pain than putting Roza through that.

 _"The long run? I've never killed Strigoi with my bare hands before. I'm not even sure if I know how! They're going to kill me before I have a chance to figure it out."_

 _"No, they won't. Guardian Nelson is playing at something. He's not just going to let you die. He needs you for his sick and twisted game, you're too valuable to him to let you be killed by Strigoi."_ I said thinking it through. _"He'll most likely use this opportunity to wear you down so he stands a chance in a fight against you."_

 _"The only way he'll stand a chance against me is if I'm dead, and even then, I'm sure I could do more damage as a ghost."_ Roza chuckled. I tried to find the humor in her statement but was simply left depressed at the thought of my Roza being dead.

 _"The only people that will be dying is Guardian Nelson and his employer,"_ I mumbled sagely, promising myself that nothing would happen to Roza as long as I live.

 _"You should let the court system handle them, Dimitri. It's one thing to kill to preserve your own life, it's another thing to take a life out of revenge."_ Roza said gently, siphoning off my depressed mood.

 _"I will do whatever it takes to get you back,"_ I vowed. _"Your father is pulling me back. If he comes back keep asking questions. Find out all you can. Don't worry, Roza. I'm coming for you."_

"Is there anything new, Belikov?" Abe asked, his stony, murderous expression firmly planted on his face.

"Guardian Nelson revealed his plan for Roza, but we still don't know who he's working for. He's a Hunter. He plans on pitting Roza against Strigoi, not to kill but to weaken." I informed before gathering my bearings.

In the time I'd spent with Roza, Sydney had returned with her laptop and was quickly typing away with Jasper looking over her shoulder. Christopher had started pacing with a thoughtful expression as he mumbled to himself. Kyle was sitting, waiting patiently for any update or command.

Abe and Pavel had stopped their vicious attack on their phones, though they kept them in hand, probably waiting for a response.

"How is Rose doing?" Pavel asked, standing behind Abe tensely.

"She's angry. She a little worried, not for her sake but for mine. She's worried that when she fights Strigoi that I'm going to take all the damage, and she doesn't want that." I sighed, wiping my hand across my face. Abe chuckled quietly while shaking his head. "Have you guys had any luck?"

"Pavel and I have contacted people that have access to the Guardian vehicle navigation systems. They're going to see if anyone was around this area yesterday. It should only take a few hours to hear back from them. I don't know if Sydney has made any progress. She won't answer us when we ask her questions. Jasper has been trying to deduce what she's been doing, but she's really good at what she does and doesn't leave much time to piece things together." Abe reported looking over at Sydney as she continued to ignore everything except what was displayed on her screen.

"She's sent out an alert to the Alchemists in the area. Apparently, Rose is a valuable asset to the Alchemists because of her time in Russia. They have a list of Guardians that they have on speed dial should a Strigoi problem be getting out of hand." Jasper said, looking up from his intense observation.

"I've heard of them. They're more prestigious than the Royal Guard, but no one knows who they are." Christopher said, never once pausing in his path of pacing destruction.

"They're referred to at the Dirty Dozen," Pavel said. "Arthur Schoenberg was one of them. After the attack where he was killed, the Alchemists were having a tough time finding a replacement."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I'm one of them," Pavel said with a shrug. He passed it off as no big deal, but I felt everyone pause in their own musings, Sydney included, and stare at him in amazement. Even Abe had a shocked look leading me to believe that the mobster himself didn't know the accomplishment of his personal Guardian. "Abe, you had to have known it wasn't a coincidence that we were in Russia during the majority of Galina's reign."

"You led me to believe it was all business," Abe said with furrowed eyebrows.

"It was. Though it was my business alongside yours." Pavel chuckled with another shrug.

"I'm assuming that Roza doesn't know that she's on this prestigious list?"

"Probably not. Most Guardians don't know that they make the list unless they're called upon to take care of some incident." Pavel informed before turning his attention fully to Sydney. "So, I'm assuming that the Alchemists have been tracking her somehow. They've become a lot more subtle than they used to be. At one point I think they used chip implants to keep track of the Dirty Dozen, but now they do so willingly."

"How do they track you?" Jasper asked, cutting of Sydney's response.

"This," Pavel said raising his left hand. On his index finger sat a silver band. "They've got a tracker embedded in the ring, as long as I don't take it off, they'll be able to find me. I don't know if they would have had enough time to get something to Rose, and considering that she didn't know what she was, I doubt she has something they can track."

"That's where you're wrong," Sydney said, a wide smile spreading across her face as she turned her laptop to face us. There was a pulsing red dot in the center of the screen that was boldly labeled 'Rosemarie Hathaway.'

"How?" Pavel asked in shock.

"She wears a ring. It's the same ring she had when she escaped from Galina's compound. I don't think she's taken it off other than to shower." Sydney said with a shrug. I'd noticed the ring before, but I also knew the significance of it.

"It was a ring that a Spirit user had charmed for her in Russia before I took her. On one of my…visits…I'd taken an interest in the design and picked it up to study it closer. I'm pretty sure that it was what planted the seed in Roza's mind that I could be restored with the help of Spirit." I mumbled looking at my hands as the images flashed through my mind.

"I don't care what it's for, who gave it to her, or why she's wearing it," Abe growled. "Just tell me where my daughter is."

"She's still in the state, a few hours from here, in fact. The property is listed as foreclosed. It's been on the market for quite some time, but no one has put in an offer until a few days ago. The place looks pretty run down." Sydney said, turning the screen toward herself to find a picture for us to look at.

"If I had to guess, the Strigoi have been using it as a transit house. Do you know who put in the offer?" Pavel asked.

I had to agree with Sydney, the place looked overgrown and slightly isolated. I could see woods in the background of the picture and it didn't look like the house had many neighbors. A house like that would be a perfect place for a few Strigoi to hide until nightfall.

"Yeah, and that's what made me sure that she will be there. The name is Ethan Moore. He's a Guardian at Court. There's no need for him to be buying a house in New York." Sydney said before pulling up Guardian Moore's picture.

"That's one of the men that took Roza," I said pointing quickly to the picture that appeared on the screen.

"What could he want with Rose?" Christopher asked leaning over my shoulder to get a better look at the guy.

"He's probably working for the same person that hired Guardian Nelson, but I don't know how they would have crossed the path of the same person," Pavel said before his eyes widened. "The person that hired both of them has got to have some in at Court. After I fired Guardian Nelson, Guardian Croft would have been notified of his unemployment. He would have been put on a list of available Guardians, one who didn't mind being hired out privately."

"So, whoever was looking for a private Guardian hired them both and it was just an unfortunate coincidence that Guardian Nelson also happened to be obsessed with Roza?" I asked trying to fit the pieces together.

"I'm not so sure. I would hazard a guess that Guardian Nelson was hired specifically because of his obsession with Rose." Pavel said scrolling through his phone.

"What are you doing?" Kyle asked suddenly as Pavel started backing out of the room.

"I'm going to call Guardian Croft and see who hired Guardian Nelson," Pavel stated before walking out of the room with his phone to his ear. Just them, Abe's phone chimed.

"That was faster than I imagined." He mumbled as he took in whatever notification he received. "The car was signed out to Guardian Moore, but he was clever enough to disable the GPS tracking before leaving the wards. They don't know where he is, but that doesn't matter because we know where he is, or where he should be."

"Then why are we still sitting around?" I asked jumping to my feet, surprised with myself that I hadn't done it as soon as Sydney had shown me the pulsing red dot.

"It's my daughter's life on the line, Dimitri. I'm not going to rush into this half-cocked because I wasn't patient enough to gather all the necessary facts before putting together a plan." Abe said firmly, looking toward the doorway where Pavel was returning from his conversation with the Head Guardian.

"Natasha Ozera," Pavel said, his eyes blazing.

"Tasha?" I questioned, not trying to hide my disbelief.

"Do you know who that is?" Abe asked, his eyes narrowing in a dangerous way.

"She was a friend of my eldest sister," I said. "What could she possibly want with Roza? They were friends. Why would Tasha go to these lengths to take Roza when she could have just called and talked to her?"

"That's what I'd like to know, also, but I doubt I'm going to receive an answer from anyone other than Natasha," Abe said nodding to Pavel as he stood. There was an unspoken routine taking place that confused Sydney and me until Jasper started to inform us.

"We're taking two vehicles. Dimitri, you'll be with Abe and Pavel. Pavel will be in communication with Christopher while you guys hash out a plan of action. It's almost a four-hour trip between here and where we're going. That will give you plenty of time to figure out what we're doing when we get there."

"What about Eddie?" I asked.

"He'll be here when we return. With Rose." Abe said motioning for me to get moving.

"Grab whatever weapons you'll need," Christopher said, holstering his own stake but leaving his sword leaning against the wall. Pavel strapped a gun to his side and passed another to Abe, having him do the same.

I left my stake on the kitchen counter and strapped on both my swords before running upstairs to grab Roza's. When I got back downstairs, everyone was ready to go. I followed Pavel and Abe out to the vehicles wordlessly and only made a sound when a sharp pain radiated through my arm.

"What's wrong?" Pavel asked quickly, drawing his gun. I felt the pain quickly siphoned away and dove into Roza's mind to check on her. She had been moved to a different location. It wasn't the small, cold room where she had been before. This was a more of a bullfighting ring, but instead of being surrounded by fences, there were walls of fire.

The walls kept the Strigoi Roza was fighting from leaving the ring, but they also prevented Roza from escaping. Illuminated just beyond the wall of flames, I could see the sinister smile of Guardian Nelson. Beside him stood Tasha.

Had I not known she was behind this I would have been shocked to see the look of malice on her face as she watched Roza fend off a dozen Strigoi. The pain flashed through me momentarily before Roza took it to fuel her strength.

"It's not my pain, it's Roza's. They've started the fight."


	27. Chapter 27

The car ride was pure torture.

I'm not referring to the pain that was coming from Roza's battle with Strigoi. It wasn't the long drive in a cramped vehicle that only accomplished increasing my stress or the seemingly impossible plan Pavel was trying to outline. I'm talking about my mind flashing back to the events of Spokane.

I'd almost lost my Roza that night. Roza lost one of her closest friends and part of her innocence as well. I couldn't help but feel like I was going to lose someone tonight, and nothing I said, or Pavel said, could shake the feeling.

I prayed. I prayed more than I had in my entire life combined. I prayed for my Roza. I prayed that she would at least make it out of this alive. I prayed for myself, that I would be able to live a relatively long life with my soulmate. I prayed for the surrounding company.

I'd grown to appreciate Christopher's wit and harsh glares, and Kyle's silent observations were rather insightful. I knew Jasper and Sydney were going strong, and I would hate for either of them to lose the other.

Roza had just gotten to know her father and uncle, and I knew it would crush her should she lose either of them because of Tasha. I knew about her thinly veiled hatred for the woman, but should anything happen to someone she loved because of her actions, her hatred would become extreme and she would probably seek revenge.

I felt a shiver run through me at the thought of Roza's dedication should her mission be revenge. That was _if_ I made it out of this alive. I knew Guardian Nelson wasn't going to kill her, she hadn't served her purpose yet, but I doubt that he would have any qualms with killing me. My heart stuttered at the thought of Roza having to live without me.

Would she be able to? Would I want her to? Of course, I would want her to live a happy life should I die tonight, but would she?

I tried to keep my mind on the plan that Pavel was laying out, but the random bursts of pain were distracting. I thought about trying to put up mental blocks like Roza had said she could do with Lissa, so I could focus my mind, but I didn't know if that would block the pain as well. I needed to take the pain from Roza so she could keep fighting no matter how much it took out of me.

My pain could further Roza's fight. She could gain strength from the damage that was being dealt to me. I would gladly deal with any pain as long as it ensured Roza's ongoing safety.

"Belikov! Are you even listening to me?" Abe asked, not for the first time either. He'd been receiving the same answer since we got in the car and he began doing what he does best: planning. He sighed in preparation as I muttered my response once again.

"I'm trying, but the pain is more than a little distracting." My voice held an air of annoyance and restraint that it hadn't when we started the trip, but I assumed after all this time he would figure out that I wasn't able to focus as more wounds appeared.

Due to quick healing, none of the wide gashes that appeared on my body stayed for long, and the hits that I'm sure were going to be large bruises eased up in a few moments. The larger scraps bled for a few minutes, and the time that it took for the cuts to stitch themselves together grew longer.

"You look like hell, by the way," Pavel said, glancing back at me in the rearview mirror. There were at least three cuts that were working on closing themselves up. My clothes were stained with my blood, and that wasn't counting the blood that didn't even make it to the fabric and dried on my skin.

"Thanks, just remember these are Roza's wounds manifesting themselves on my body," I said narrowing my eyes at him. His jaw set harshly and his knuckles tightened around the steering wheel.

"What do you remember? Of the plan, that is." Abe sighed rubbing his temples in frustration. I knew it was getting to him every time I reminded him that it was Roza taking the hits while I took the pain, though I didn't like that fact either.

"My priority is Roza. I'm not to let myself be distracted by anyone unless they're in my direct path to get to her. I can use lethal action at any point in time if I think it necessary, which I probably will. You gave me blueprints to the house, but I haven't been able to concentrate long enough to study them well." I said tiredly.

"How long have they been at it?" Pavel asked gently.

"How long have we been on the road?" I countered.

"Almost three hours," Abe answered.

"Then they've been fighting for almost three hours," I said, letting my head fall back against the headrest. "She's managed to snap the neck of a few of them to put them out of commission for a few minutes, but there isn't a lot of downtime by the time she gets all twelve of them down."

"Wait, so she's been fighting for three hours?" Abe asked, his eyes wide in horror.

"Almost. As I said, she's been able to find a few minutes here and there to give herself a break, but between the fire ring and the almost constant barrage of Strigoi, her strength is waning. I've given her all my negative emotions to help give her strength, but other than my pain, I've run out of negative emotions to give her." I said rubbing my hands across my face before another nasty cut sliced down my forearm causing me to hiss in surprised pain.

"Is there any way we can get there any faster?" Abe asked, paling at the sight of my blood, weird. Perhaps it wasn't my well-being he was concerned about, it was probably Roza's. If I was getting cut up like this, that meant that Roza was taking hits. She was getting tired, and the hits were becoming more frequent.

I couldn't find any positive emotions in this car, nor pull any from the vehicles we'd passed because of the speed at which we were traveling. I was growing weaker by the moment, but the pain was a constant.

"Not without risking a delay should we get pulled over," Pavel said, his grip becoming impossibly tighter around the steering wheel, and despite his words, he pressed a little harder on the gas pedal.

"How much longer?" I asked tiredly, my head falling back again as I fought to keep my eyes open. Pavel paused before answering, probably waiting until the headlights fell upon a mile marker to give me an accurate response.

"Half hour tops," Abe responded before Pavel got a chance.

 _"We're almost there, Roza."_ I breathed into her mind. Her relief flooded my senses and fueled my determination. _"Hold on a little longer, milaya."_

 _"I'm trying, Comrade. I'm not sure how much longer I can take on these Strigoi, but I know once I stop, Tyler will jump in and try to take me on. And that's not even considering what Tasha will do once I fall."_ Roza replied, sounding much more tired than I felt.

 _"If they touch you, they'll regret their existence,"_ I growled.

 _"You realize how cliché that sounded, right?"_ Roza joked as I winched in pain as another long slash ran across my back. I gave a hiss of pain and shot off the seat as much as I could with my restraint.

Abe whirled around with a question on the tip of his tongue that was swiftly cut off as I barked out my order.

"Drive faster, Pavel!"

"I'm trying to get there as fast as I can, but I don't want to get pulled over and waste time, nor do I want to wreak the car and fail our rescue mission completely," Pavel explained, the pain evident in his voice.

I knew both of them were in pain, emotionally and mentally, I was too, but I was the only one dealing with the physical pain. I know what you're thinking: _Wow, Dimitri, it's a little pain. You're taking it away from Roza so she can keep fighting, the least you can do is suck it up and stop complaining about it._

I was trying to, believe me, but I had been dealing with this pain (cuts, gashes, and what was probably a broken rib or two) for the past three hours with no end in sight. My strength was being drained slowly, not because of the secondary beating that I was enduring, but because Roza needed my strength to fuel her own.

I glanced down at the blueprints beside me, sure that I wasn't going to be able to memorize the floor plan at all, but after closing my eyes and imagining the floor plans, I could see exactly where I would need to go to get Roza.

We didn't know how many people were going to be guarding the house, I don't even think we discussed it, but nothing and no one was going to stand in between Roza and me. I was going to charge into the house and bring hellfire with me.

My eyes shot open in realization.

"Roza might not even be in the house," I stated, the pain-fueled fog lifting from my mind as Roza got a break (I know, I should have thought of it sooner, but, again, I was a little distracted by the pain). "We may not have to enter the house at all. Right now, they're outside, fighting in a ring of fire, no doubt drawing notice from at least one neighbor."

"I highly doubt that. The neighborhood they're in is eighty percent foreclosed, there aren't many people left to report anything to the authorities, and if there are, they're too scared of being kicked out of their own residences to tell anyone anything." Abe said.

"If we get there, and we see any sign of fire, we'll forego the house completely and charge the yard. Do you know how many people are outside the perimeter of the fighting ring? Once we get to Rose and give her a few weapons, the Strigoi won't be around much longer." Pavel said.

"I haven't seen anyone other than Guardian Nelson and Tasha standing around the ring, but that doesn't mean there isn't anyone else. Roza hasn't been too terribly concerned with what's outside the ring." I said, peeking into Roza's mind just to make sure I couldn't see anyone else outside the flames that Roza might have missed.

"I can't imagine that Natasha has more than Guardian Nelson and Guardian Moore working with her. Most know of Rose and respect her. She'll be surprised to hear it, but she's extremely important to the Moroi world and not many people would think about putting her in danger lest they risk putting the entire Moroi population at risk." Abe said turning back to face the road.

I could see we were two exits away from the one that Pavel had deemed our location. Christopher came over our comms to ask a few more questions as he followed us off the highway and on to the exit ramp.

The already tense air in the car thickened as Abe fidgeted with his gun, checking and double checking that it was loaded and ready to go. Pavel's eyes flicked back to mine once more before he turned on the street that held my Roza.

Kyle sped past us and pulled up to the curb roughly. The doors opened quickly right as we pulled up behind them, following in suit. My right hand had already pulled out my scimitar while my left hand had tightened around Roza's weapons.

The façade of the rough looking house showed only one light on in one of the upstairs rooms, but the bright glow that emanated from each side of the house indicated that the party was being held at the back of the house.

I followed directly behind Pavel, who followed Jasper and Christopher. Abe was behind me next to Kyle with Sydney bringing up the rear. I'm not sure when it happened, but Sydney held a gun slightly out in front of her. I'm not even sure she'd been trained with the weapon, but the fire burning in her eyes made me certain that she'd hit her target.

Abe also had his gun out but the Guardians had each opted for a stake.

 _"Comrade?"_ Roza whispered in my mind. We'd just rounded the corner of the house, and I immediately made eye contact with her. While her face showed just how exhausted she really was, the only way you could tell she had been fighting for three hours was her hair.

Her gorgeous, long hair was disheveled like she'd been running through thick brush and the twigs and branches had been pulling her hair in all directions. She'd been provided a large shirt to cover her swimsuit, but it was torn in too many places to be covering much of anything.

 _"Just a little longer, Roza. We've got to take out the Strigoi and then Tasha and Guardian Nelson. Then we'll find Guardian Moore. You'll be out of her in no time."_ I assured her and the visual evidence of her relative safety soothed me.

After my eyes scanned her face over the flames, they flicked to the two silhouettes that stood with their backs to us on this side of the circle. One was male and the other was female: Tyler and Tasha.

"Tasha! Look out!" Came a shout from our right, the direction of the house. My head whirled in that direction, as did Tasha's, to see another male that I instantly recognized as a Palace Guard, Ethan Moore.

When Tasha turned, Tyler did, too. After sending a confused look to Guardian Moore, both of them turned in our direction, but it was slightly too late. Pavel was charging them and yelling for them to get down, hoping for them to give up without a fight. Unlikely.

With Tasha distracted, the flames' intensity lessened and a few of the Strigoi leapt bravely over the flames and launched themselves at new targets while the rest of them hesitated in the attack on Roza.

Roza took the opportunity our momentary distraction provided to also leap over the flames, following the Strigoi in our direction. She wore a large smile as her Darkness rushed out to wrap itself around me. My Light met her halfway, but I couldn't let myself get too distracted.

I tossed her a sword, letting her know that now wasn't the time for fond embraces. She caught the hilt in her right hand and pulled the sheath off with her left. While her movements were still quick, they were much slower than they should have been.

I'd stopped in my tracks as soon as I was close enough to her to throw her a sword. She kept running and only stopped when she was beside me before she turned back to what should have been charging Strigoi.

The events that lay before us were odd. Strigoi were charging, just not us. It seemed that Roza's three-hour battle had left the Strigoi with little desire to fight her again. Instead of charging us, the Strigoi where attacking the closest living thing.

Ethan had bolted from the back deck and was making his way toward Tasha. Tasha was looking terrified as Strigoi stalked slowly toward her, the flames in her palms being the only protection she had. Guardian Nelson had pulled out a stake and was fighting off two Strigoi that he'd back toward the ring of fire that was quickly dying without Tasha's magic to fuel it.

Kyle, Jasper, and Christopher had circled around Sydney, who was doing a decent job at not looking completely terrified and seemed to be holding their own against the four Strigoi that had surrounded them.

Pavel had backed Abe against the house and was protecting him against three Strigoi, and it was a losing battle. Without giving it a second thought, Roza and I moved in sync to aid Pavel in his fight. Roza distracted the Strigoi that Pavel was most focused on, giving Pavel a chance to put his stake through the undead being's heart.

Much like my own, Roza's movements were slow and getting slower. We couldn't flawlessly decapitate one Strigoi let alone several. However, with one less Strigoi to worry about, Pavel and I were able to put down the remaining two. Roza had backed out of the fight once she saw she wasn't needed.

I turned to check if she was alright. When I stuck my arm out to catch her as she stumbled backward, she waved me off in a slow and lethargic movement.

"Help the others. I'll be fine, just finish off the Strigoi." She said giving me a look that meant I wasn't to argue. I nodded and rushed toward Sydney's group but arrived just as Christopher and Jasper were killing their Strigoi.

The only Strigoi left were the ones that were circling Tasha, and as much as I wanted to let them kill her and be done with it, I thought she deserved a trial and to spend the rest of her life rotting in prison.

Ethan was doing a decent job at fending the Strigoi off, as was Tasha with her fire, but it wasn't anything that was going to last long and there was no way either of them had the strength left to kill.

Tasha had wasted a lot of her energy holding the ring of fire for an extended period of time. While it didn't require much energy to hold the flame steady after the ring was set with a match, holding it for three hours was bound to take a toll on her physical ability.

Tasha looked paler than usual, and Ethan had more than his fair share of scrapes and bruises. He was getting slower with each block, and knowing that he also needed to stand trial, I rushed toward them vaguely aware that the other Guardians were following close behind.

With four more Guardians as back up, the three Strigoi didn't stand a chance. Tasha looked grateful for the assistance, and her eyes lit up in excitement when she noticed me. The look she gave me made uncomfortable knots form in my stomach that weren't caused by the close proximity to Strigoi.

Knowing a losing battle when they saw it, the Strigoi tried to run, trying to get away to live another day, but they didn't succeed. Sydney raised her gun and fired as one started his dash toward the woods at the back of the property. The bullet found its mark and the Strigoi hissed in slight discomfort before turning toward Sydney.

All thoughts of escape vanished upon the challenge, and the Strigoi was quickly staked by a protective Jasper before the Strigoi could even take a step in Sydney's direction. Jasper gave Sydney a wink to which she responded with a roll of her eyes.

The last Strigoi bolted for the woods, not wanting to take a risk even if there was a challenge. Everyone, myself included, sagged in relief. I felt my face start to twist up into a smile as I turned to find Roza.

We'd left her leaning up against the house. She was trying to stay conscious, but after the beating we'd both taken, I wouldn't blame her if she'd closed her eyes for a little while. However, she wasn't leaning against the house where we'd left her.

She wasn't laying down to rest her eyes. She wasn't taking a break from all the fighting, and she sure as hell wasn't relaxing now that the Strigoi were gone.

She was standing with Guardian Nelson.

A gun was pointed to her head.

His eyes were wide and frantic.

Her expression was apologetic as her eyes shone with love and unshed tears. A thousand words passed between us as she was pulled backward toward the woods with Guardian Nelson. He was screaming for us to stand down, drop our weapons, and back off.

The look in his eyes told truth when he said he'd blow her head off. She was too tired to fight him off, and I was too weak to risk her life to give her a fighting chance. There was no way out of this where she would remain safe.

I'd failed yet again.

I was the last to drop my weapons, not because I was going to risk Roza's life and challenge him, but I was too frozen to actually move. My Roza was standing with a manic who had a gun pointed to her head.

She hated guns.

I felt her pushing at the bond that had frozen along with me. She was trying to tell me something, and I thought it would be something useful. A way to help her or a plan she'd come up with, but I was wrong.

I heard someone scream as a single tear fell from her eyes. She gave me her most dazzling smile, the one that made her whole being light up. She was giving me the perfect image to remember her by as she finally pushed her thought through the bond, but I, for once, didn't want to hear her beautiful voice echoing in my mind. I didn't want to hear what she had to say, not because of what she said but because of the way she said it.

It was a goodbye.

 _"I love you, Comrade. I always will."_


	28. Chapter 28

My mind finally registered that the scream I was hearing was my own. I felt the cold barrel of the gun pressed harder against Roza's temple as she closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

I couldn't believe that Rose Hathaway was going down without a fight. Her arms hung limply by her sides, her shoulders sagged forward in defeat, but the look of contentment resided on her face. She didn't even attempt to fight Nelson off, she just stood there and let it happen.

 _She's been fighting for the past three hours, you idiot. She's been fighting ever since she was taken over a day ago._

 _But…she can't possibly be ready to give up fighting now when her life was so close to being taken._

She can't possibly be giving up. If she gave up on her life, she was giving up on us, on the life we could have had.

 _"Roza, no!"_ I screamed through our bond.

Then several things happened at once.

I began moving in their direction albeit a little slower than it should have been.

Roza's sweet voice flitted through my mind with a, _"Goodbye, Dimitri."_

A blinding white light shot out of me in Roza's direction.

Guardian Nelson's finger squeezed the trigger.

Red-ringed eyes appeared over their shoulders with a crazed and hungry look.

I didn't know what to focus on first other than Roza…so, I guess I did know what to focus on first. Another scream joined my own as the Strigoi's fangs tore into Guardian Nelson's neck. However, both screams were drowned out by the sound of a single gunshot.

That gunshot was the worst sound I'd ever heard.

A pain erupted in my chest, the likes of which I'd never felt before. My charge faltered slightly as my Light caught Roza when her body crumpled to the ground. Blood was splatted across her angelic face. It emanated from one dark spot on her temple.

She wasn't even taken out by a Strigoi in some epic battle to save the entire Moroi race. She didn't die protecting Lissa as she'd always thought she'd go.

No.

She was killed by some crazy lunatic, a Guardian nonetheless, with a gun.

I could almost hear her grumbling, _"Using a gun is just cheating,"_ but I couldn't find it in myself to feel any humor at the statement.

I collapsed next to her on the ground, replacing the Light with my arms as I cradled her against me. Her dazzling smile still lived on her face as the blood slowly seeped out of the wound. I couldn't string together any rational thought, nor focus on anything other than my Roza.

My Light was still outside of my body, wrapping us in a light far too bright for the situation. I would have thought that the veil of darkness would have come crashing down. I would have thought that time would have stopped, and any light would have ceased to exist.

I would have thought that the world would have been cast into the abyss…for my entire world way lying dead in my arms, a ghostly smile being the only thing that showcased her once exuberant life.

The pain in my chest made it hard to breathe, not that I had the desire to continue breathing without my Roza beside me. I slowly became aware of the pounding in my temple, right where the bullet would have entered my head if I had been the one fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of the gun and not Roza.

 _It should have been me._

Why hadn't I been harmed as I had with any other injury? Why hadn't the bullet actually pierced my skull though it was pointed at Roza? I'd take on the scrapes and cuts of her earlier battle, why not this also? Why wasn't it me?

Perhaps it was because this was a fatal wound that I couldn't take on for Roza. Perhaps it was because it wasn't caused by the claw of an undead creature, rather by a manmade object.

Perhaps it was because Roza blocked our bond to take the bullet, so I wouldn't have to.

 _Roza, you should have let me take the bullet for you. I don't know how I'll go on living without you._

 _I don't think I can._

It surprised me how quickly I came to terms with Roza's death. I'd always imagined that if I found out that Roza had died that I would go straight into denial. I would have searched for a way that she could still be alive, or I would have found a way to bring her back as she had done for me.

Perhaps it was because she died right in front of me that I was quicker to accept it. Perhaps it was because her skin was deathly pale, even though she still held on the warmth of life. Perhaps it was because I could see her life seeping out of the wound on her head, the wound that was marring her perfection.

Despite accepting the fact, the reality of it all was still blurry. You know those moments in your life where you're existing, but you have a hard time believing what is actually happening around you? I've had several of those moments, most of them having to deal with Roza, both good and bad.

The first time I'd allowed myself to lose control and give in to my desire was one of the good moments. It seemed every time I could gaze upon Roza unhindered I had that feeling. The feeling that it, she, was too good to be true, but I held on to every moment because it could have been torn away from me in an instant.

It had.

The moment Nathan had sunk his fangs into me, hearing Roza's screeching pleas, was one of the bad moments. Watching Roza walk calmly out of the church that horrid day was another one. These moments caused my stomach to drop and my heart to shudder in my chest.

Both the good and bad moments had me thinking, _"This cannot be happening, not to me."_

Both the good and the bad moments had me pinching myself, checking to make sure I wasn't in a dream. Only, the bad moments gave me a nauseous feeling when I realized it wasn't a dream.

And this wasn't a dream. And I was already feeling nauseous.

My Roza was really dead. She was gone, and I didn't know how to get her back. I didn't know if there was a way _to_ get her back, but my heart was begging me to try.

My mind conjured up a picture of her smile, the one that usually accompanied her more mischievous looks. Her expression was alluring and mysterious, and my conditioned response had my heart racing and my blood rushing south.

It was a creepy reaction considering her dead body was in my arms, but it felt like I was doing the right thing even if I didn't know what I was doing. I closed my eyes to focus fully on her image in my mind's eye.

I felt my Light slowly press closer to the two of us as the final happy moments I remember played through my mind. Her beautiful wavy hair twirled playfully in the ocean breeze as she continuously glanced over her shoulder at me. Her small, delicate hand fit perfectly in my larger, more calloused one as she pulled me behind her.

The fabric of her swimsuit didn't leave much to the imagination, but her confidence was more intriguing than the soft curves that sculpted her figure. The familiar scent of peaches flooded my nose. It overpowered the salty air that was whipping against my face and, for some reason, made me want pie.

I watched her walk in front of me, studying the way she moved slowly down the beach. Her entire being was magnetizing. Despite it being my element, and the opposite of hers, Roza's entire being was encased in Light, shining so brightly I had to shield my eyes. I hated looking away from Roza even for a moment but soon the Light began to fade, both in my mind and in the surroundings.

Her words were the last thing I focused on.

"I love you, Comrade."

Never in my life had I wanted to hear that stupid nickname fall off her lips as badly as I did in this moment. I wanted to see her roll her eyes as I pretended to be annoyed by it. I wanted to see her grin widen as I mock sighed my response.

"I love you, Roza."

I heard several gasps surround me, but I kept my eyes firmly shut. I couldn't decide if the gasps were good or bad, and I couldn't stand it if they were anything but good sighs.

"Dimitri?" I heard Abe ask. The hope that filled his voice made another pain rush through my heart. How could I tell a father that his daughter was dead? I know he'd seen what had happened, but to actually confirm it? To tell him that I had failed at my job? To inform him that the daughter he'd just gotten to know was dead?

I couldn't.

"Dimitri. You need to let her go." Kyle said gently. I felt someone, probably Kyle, kneel beside me and place a hand gently on my shoulder as I clung to Roza even tighter, shaking my head like a small child who didn't want to part with his favorite blanket.

"Dimitri, dude, let her go," Christopher said a little less gently than Kyle, and he too placed a hand on my arm, though his was to tug slightly at it. I couldn't let her go, though. I _wouldn't_ let her go.

"Dimitri, please," Sydney said stepping closer to us, but she chose to stay out of reach, probably in case I react badly to someone trying to take me away from my Roza, which I was thinking about currently.

I could hear the pounding in my ears as my breathing caught in the back of my throat and the thoughts came unhindered.

 _It didn't work._

 _Of course, it didn't work, you idiot, you can't bring someone back from the dead just with wishful thinking._

 _But if I could, I would have._

 _But I didn't._

I didn't want to believe that it didn't work.

"Dimitri?"

I froze, and I think everything around us did, too. There wasn't a sound other than the steady pounding in my ears. Even the wind had opted to stay silent as my mind tried to comprehend the events that were unfolding.

Her voice made me want to pinch myself again. The fog of disbelief lifted slightly from my mind, only to be replaced with a different kind of disbelief. The steady pounding in my ear finally registered as a heartbeat, not my own heartbeat but hers.

I tightened my arms around her, breathing in the peachy scent, the one that she always seemed to exude no matter what she was doing. It could have been hours of sweaty training, and she'd still smell like fresh peaches. Not that I wouldn't notice the scent anywhere.

"Roza," I mumbled against the skin of her neck. Not only did I hear her heartbeat increase its tempo, but I also felt her thundering pulse beat against my cheek.

She slowly lifted her arms to wrap around my shoulders and neck. Her fingers wove their way into my hair trying to pull my head back to look at her, but I didn't want to pull away from her. If I kept my arms around her she was actually here, breathing and alive. If I pulled back I might have to face a reality where it was all in my imagination.

"Comrade, you're starting to cut off the circulation to my legs. I need you to let me sit up, darling." She said pulling at my hair again. I inhaled once more and pulled myself away from her body but not too far.

She sat up, coming face to face with me. I could feel my heart beating faster as she moved her hands from my hair to cup my cheeks. Her beautiful brown eyes were flooded with love and affection as she held her gaze steady whereas mine was searching her face, her body, her soul, making sure that she was actually alive.

"Roza?" I whispered, my heart skipping again as her smile grew.

"I'm here." She whispered back, pushing my hair out of my face. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You're here."

"I am." She said, her smile turning into a smirk as I continued to stare at her in awestruck wonder.

"How?" I breathed, running my fingers over her temple where there'd once been a gaping wound. The only thing on her skin was blood. Some had dried, but most was still a little sticky. My fingers pulled away red, and I just stared at them, unsure whether or not to be horrified or amazed.

"I'd like to ask the same thing." Came a harsh voice. A growl rose up in the back of my throat. My fingers started to curl into fists until I realized that I was still holding Roza. I loosened my grip on her soft flesh as not to injure her further and then I proceeded to pull her back to me, more importantly behind me.

I used my body to shield her from one of the only Moroi that meant her harm. I felt Roza trying to calm me, both through the bond and by gently running a hand down my back, but I held steadfast to my anger and used the images of Roza's lifeless body to fan the flames of rage.

I placed Roza gently on the ground and spun around on the balls of my feet to face the offending Moroi. I stayed crouched in front of my love with my lips pulled back in a snarl. I tried to look for a weapon nearby, but my swords were yards away where I'd dropped them at Guardian Nelson's behest as were everyone's weaponry.

I was weaponless, and she had fire at her beck and call. I had strength on my side, but by the time I could get to her, she would be able to bring me down with her flames. I was cornered, in a sense, not wanting to leave Roza unguarded and unable to leave without bringing on an attack.

"I saw her get shot, in the head no less, so how is she alive? Why isn't the bitch dead?" Tasha screamed when she was only met by silence.

I think everyone was too stunned to actually do something about her right this moment because no one moved to apprehend her, and no one searched for a gun to put a bullet through her cold heart. (Not that I condone killing Moroi…)

"You planned this, didn't you?" I growled, drawing her gaze to mine. It softened slightly until she saw the fire that was burning in my eyes. It was pure hatred. "This was your goal all along, to get Roza killed."

"Of course I planned this, Dimka. How else was I going to get that little bloodwhore away from you?" She growled back.

"Away from me? What do I have to do with this?" I asked slightly stunned.

 _"At least you're cute, Comrade, even if you aren't the sharpest tool in the shed."_ Roza sighed in my mind, but I paid her no mind.

"You have everything to do with this!" Tasha yelled, the fire that lived in her eyes grew brighter as I felt Roza shift out from behind me. I pushed her back with my arm only to receive a grunt of frustration from her. "You were supposed to be mine!"

"But I'm not yours! I never was going to be yours! I was never supposed to be yours!" I countered. I wasn't going to leave Roza, but I really wish that someone would break out of their trance to at least put Tasha in restraints.

"You were! You were going to be my Guardian. I'd been planning it for years! I just had to get rid of the Zeklos first and then you would see that I was the one you were supposed to be assigned to. But then you got all sad, and they transferred you to that Dragomir bitch. Then this little bloodwhore had to ensnare you in her web of lies." She growled as she began her pacing, stopping every few words to throw hateful glares at Roza who'd poked her head over my shoulder.

"Zeklos? You mean Ivan?" I asked quietly, my mind scrambling to make the pieces fit.

"Really, Dimka? Do you really think that _she_ would be able to give you everything you wanted? You think that she would have remained faithful to you? No! That's not who she is! I've heard all about the kind of person she is. She is a bloodwhore! She's just going to use you and then get rid of you. I was helping you. You have to believe me." She pleaded. "I only wanted what was best for you. I can give you everything you've ever wanted. I can give you a family, kids, the perfect life. The only thing _she_ can give you is heartache."

"What did you do to Ivan, Tasha?" I asked quietly, ignoring the lies and searching for the truth.

"I did what you would have wanted me to do, Dimka. Ivan was the only thing standing in the way of you being my Guardian. I'd talked to you several times about it, but you always said no because you were sworn to Ivan, that you were never going to leave him for another charge." Tasha said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

" _You_ killed Ivan?" I asked, the anger that had been simmering was beginning to boil over, and I didn't know what it would do if I couldn't control it.

"I got rid of the one thing standing in our way!" She screamed, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. "That is until you got reassigned, and not to me. I was thinking of ways that I could get rid of Lissa, but Christian seemed so attached to her, I would hate to have taken that joy away from him. When I visited at Christmas, you rejected me again, claiming that your heart belonged to someone else.

"I could see it was Roza. I'm not blind, but I had hoped that you would see past her pretty face and see who she really is, what she's really like." Tasha continued growling. I could see the glow of her palms growing brighter. Despite not producing the flame yet, the heat that radiated off of her was almost overwhelming.

"I can't believe you, Tasha," I said, trying to shake off my stunned feeling, but if I stopped being stunned, I'd start being angry, and I didn't know if I could handle that right now. So far, everyone had remained quiet and frozen to their spots, but I knew that stillness was about to break. "You were supposed to be my friend. Now…now you're nothing to me."

I almost felt bad when the pained expression crossed her face, but she quickly replaced her devastation with fury. She apparently decided that she had had enough of threatening glances. Her hands burst into flames, they danced with blue and purple, probably fueled by her anger.

My body tensed as it prepared itself for a fight I'm pretty sure I couldn't win. Dhampir against fire…pretty sure that fire would win.

"Tasha, stop. This isn't what you said it was going to be." Ethan said, pulling on Tasha's shoulder. She tried shrugging him off, but he kept his grip despite the obvious signs of his stress.

I could feel the heat radiating off of her from where I was crouched in front of Roza, so standing right next to her would have to have been extremely painful, but he didn't seem too fazed by it.

"This is exactly what I said it was going to be. I told you we had to get rid of a danger to the Moroi society. Rose Hathaway is a danger to the Moroi society, but no one but me seems to see it!" Tasha screamed. She let the fire die and turned to face Ethan.

"How is she a danger to Moroi society? She removed herself from it almost completely. All she's been doing is killing Strigoi. As far as I know, that is helping the Moroi society." Ethan said, thinly veiling his frustrations.

"I know what she was planning!" Tasha screamed in earnest. I could feel confusion running through all of us.

"What was she planning?" Ethan asked, probably feeling the same amount of confusion.

"She was planning on killing the queen! She was going to seduce her way into the queen's private chambers and kill her with a stake." Tasha exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

I knew for a fact that Roza wasn't planning anything untoward when dealing with the queen, but I was wanting to know how Tasha would have known something like this.

"She wasn't planning that, Tasha." Ethan hissed quietly, but with the silence that surrounded us all, his voice carried to us. "You were planning that. You were going to frame her for that when you killed the queen."

"You were going to frame my daughter?" Abe growled from his position behind Pavel. At some point during Tasha's rant, Pavel had picked up a gun and was pointing it toward Tasha.

"Of course I would! She needs to die!" Tasha screamed, her flames returning in full force. She stopped seeing anything around her, her full attention turning to my Roza.

I expected Roza to feel at least a little fear as she went up against a wall of flames, but all I felt was a steely determination.

 _"Roza, you better stay put."_ I pleaded, knowing that Roza was going to do anything she felt was necessary regarding the safety of her friends and family.

 _"Don't worry, Comrade, everyone is going to make it out of this alive."_


	29. Chapter 29

_"Everyone?"_ I questioned with uncertainty, knowing that there was a slim possibility of everyone here getting out of this alive.

 _"Well, everyone on our side. I can't make too many promises about Tasha and Ethan. I'm going to try to get Ethan out of this alive because he doesn't seem too invested in Tasha's delusion."_ She said easing her way out from behind me. _"However, Tasha is too worked up to make rational decisions, therefore, her irrational decisions are probably going to get her killed. I'll try my best to keep her alive, but she won't make it easy for me."_

My hand shot out and gripped her wrist, trying to pull her back behind me, where she would be safe, but she was determined to face Tasha without any protection.

"Tasha." Roza began in a soothing voice, but it only seemed to irritate the Moroi even further. Ethan leapt back from Tasha, holding his hand in pain. I imagined that his hand would be bright red, maybe blisters breaking out on his skin, nothing that he was going to get over without a lot of time and medication. I was surprised that he lasted standing next to her for that long.

"I'm going to kill you," Tasha growled in a voice that I never would have guessed she could produce. While Tasha's voice had never been that angelic, nothing like Roza's silvery tone, her usually nasally, high-pitched speech had lowered about two octaves, like the fire itself was speaking.

"Tasha, you need to calm down. We can work this out." Roza said, never once pausing as she slowly inched forward, her hands raised in a calming gesture as she stepped closer to the flaming Moroi.

"The only way we can work this out is if Dimitri leaves with me. Otherwise, you're going to be dead soon, and he'll be coming with me. I'll have my way no matter what." Tasha said, her voice still in the demonic tone that she'd adopted.

"I'm not going with you, Tasha, no matter if Roza is dead or not," I called out and received a swift, sharp look from Roza for my interruption, but Tasha had no reaction to my voice. She was too focused on Roza, and the closer Roza got to her, the brighter her flames burned.

Had I not been so concerned with Roza's safety, I would have been impressed with how long and how hot Tasha was holding onto these flames. The flames were blue and purple, indicated that they were burning hotter than most fire-users' flames. She'd been holding the ring of fire less than thirty minutes ago and fought to save her life, yet she held the raging inferno in the palms of her hands as if it were nothing strenuous, but I knew better.

I also knew that no matter how upset she was, she couldn't hold this for that much longer without refueling somehow.

I expected to see Roza developing beads of sweat on her brow as she continued to draw closer to the fire-using Moroi, to show the same signs of distress that Ethan had shown when he had stood beside Tasha. However, Roza's perfection held, though her hair did swirl in the aggressive wind that Tasha was causing with her flames.

"There's no way you're getting out of this, Tasha. You're not going to kill me, and you're not going to leave with Dimitri. Not only will I not let it happen, but he also won't go with you, especially if you happen to kill me." Roza said, her calm voice soothing my anxieties, but it was doing nothing to calm Tasha. "The only way you're leaving here alive is if you come willingly. Dimitri will be leaving with me, not you."

"Of course it wouldn't have been of his own free volition that he was coming with me, you think I don't know that? I got that he didn't want to be my Guardian, he'd turned me down too many times for me to think that I could have convinced him to come with me of his own free will. You've spun your web of lies so well there's no way that he would believe that he was in love with me. Compulsion, bitch. I can use it, you can't. He's coming with me, and if I have to kill you to make it happen then so be it." Tasha said, a malicious smile spreading across her face as she unveiled her plans.

"You're delusional, woman." I heard Abe mutter, but again, Tasha wasn't hearing anything other than Roza. I took my eyes off of Roza for a few seconds to see what everyone else was doing, hoping that someone had a better plan than Tasha and Roza facing off against each other.

Pavel was having a hasty, whispered conversation with Abe, the gun still pointed in Tasha's direction. Christopher looked like he was ready to jump in front of Roza to protect her, while Jasper and Kyle were standing protectively in front of Sydney who was looking just as distressed as I was feeling.

Kyle had taken the gun from Sydney and was also pointing it in Tasha's direction. Ethan was looking distressed as he continued his desperate plea with Tasha to stop her assault. As Tasha's heat increased, Ethan had to continue to back up, but with each step backward, Roza took a step forward.

I almost felt bad for him. He was only doing this to appease the woman he loved, but she didn't care to inform him of her entire plan.

The plan to kill my Roza.

"Tasha, you can't kill me. Tyler tried, and he failed. If he couldn't kill me with a bullet to the head, you definitely can't kill me with your wimpy flames." Roza said, her calm voice not sounding so calm now that Tasha had said she was going to compel me into going with her.

Roza was fine as long as the threat was directed to her, but as soon as you threaten someone she cares about, there's no stopping the protective mode that Roza goes into.

"Tyler was weak. He was diluted into thinking that you were the perfect prey, but you are nowhere near perfect. I don't see how you've fooled the entire male population into thinking you're something special. You're nothing compared to me! I'm a royal Moroi who happened to survive a Strigoi attack. I'm one of the strongest fire users of this generation. You're just a bloodwhore who ran away because she couldn't protect her best friend." Tasha sneered, thinking that because Roza was losing her cool it meant that she was winning.

"Lissa didn't need my protection, nor did I want to give it to her. She was perfectly safe where she is, and I have better uses for my skills. I don't think you're seeing the big picture here, Tasha. I'm better than you in every way. There's nothing that you can say, no way you can spin this, where you are the superior being. I'll explain why you're wrong using small words, so you can understand." Roza said, her smile working its way back onto her face.

"Dhampirs are the superior race. We're faster, stronger, more durable, and our body shape is much more appealing. We do you a service by protecting you, but that's just what we do. As for Strigoi, I've survived every attack I've been involved in, not just one. You may be a fire user, a strong one at that, but your flames can't touch me. Also, I don't know how you could ever think that _I'm_ a bloodwhore or any kind of whore. I've only ever slept with one man, which is definitely something you can't say. As for Lissa, why would I need to protect her when she has someone as capable as you?" Roza said, finishing with thick sarcasm.

"You little-" Tasha growled.

"Enough, Tasha!" I yelled, interrupting what was sure to be a string of false insults directed toward Roza. "I'm not going with you whether you compel me or not, so just give it up and face your punishment like a grown adult."

"That's the thing about compulsion, Dimka, you don't have a choice. You're going to come with me. You're going to be my Guardian. You're going to leave this bitch to die, and we're going to start a family that you've always wanted." She said, a loving smile taking over her face as she laced her voice with a sickeningly sweet tone.

"That's not going to work on me, Tasha," I growled, angered by the fact that she actually attempted to compel me. It was one thing to know she was planning it, it was another thing altogether to see her actually try.

"She's got her claws hooked so deep within you," Tasha said, a look of pity spreading across her face.

"Natasha Ozera, put the flames out and come with us quietly," Pavel stated calmly. After my shout had broken through, it seemed that everyone could now communicate with the irate Moroi.

"Not until she dies!" Tasha yelled. The flames grew once more before Tasha lifted her hands over her head.

The fire collected into one large ball, pulling away from Tasha's skin as it focused itself into a sphere roughly the size of a beach ball. She gave one last sneer before flinging the ball of fire from her hands toward Roza.

Roza quickly shifted her left foot back to brace herself as she threw up a thin wall of Darkness. I forgot that Roza was still weak, both from her three-hour fight and from…you know…dying. The flames dissipated upon contact with the Darkness, but I saw the Darkness flicker as Roza stumbled back slightly.

I saw a slight twitch in both Roza's and Tasha's jaws as Tasha worked to produce another fireball, this one bigger than the last. Roza clinched her fists as her Darkness faltered again, allowing a few sparks to seep past its wall before dying in the grass at Roza's feet.

Roza couldn't take more hits, but I didn't know how to help her, and I think everyone else was in shock. I know I'd never seen a Moroi use their magic offensively like this. I'd been fortunate enough to catch the tail-end of the academy battle when Christian was assisting Roza, but other than that, I'd rarely seen a Moroi use their magic outside of a classroom setting. Had the situation been different, I would have been impressed.

"Pavel, do something!" I cried as Tasha began to form an even larger third ball.

"Tasha!" Pavel screamed. "Put the fire out or I will shoot you!"

"Death first!" Tasha exclaimed, hurling the flames toward Roza.

I lunged forward, stepping in front of Roza, throwing my Light up to brace her Darkness. As the flames touched my Light, it burned brighter, absorbing the energy, and reinforcing my barrier. I don't know why it took me so long to move my feet, but I'm glad I did because Roza's Darkness was too drained to take any more.

She was tired and needed actual sleep, not to mention a doctor just to check that everything was working.

"Move, Dimitri! I don't want to hurt you while I'm killing that bitch!" Tasha yelled. Her hands raised to form another ball of fire when a shot rang out. Tasha's pain-filled scream followed shortly after as she clung to one of her hands, the fire died as a trail of smoke rose from the barrel of Pavel's gun.

His eyes were darkened, his jaw tight, and the gun still pointed at Tasha.

"You shot me!" Tasha cried in disbelief.

"I told you I would," Pavel replied with a slight shrug. Had it been any other situation, I might have laughed at his response and his delivery method.

"I'm a royal Moroi! How could you have shot me! I'll have your head for this!" Tasha screamed, her adrenaline and rage masking the pain that should have been radiated from the gaping hole in her hand.

"I believe I'll be fine once the court knows I was protecting a member of the Dirty Dozen," Pavel said, training his gun at Tasha's chest. "Stand down and we'll leave here quietly. No one else needs to get hurt."

"That's where you're wrong. _She_ needs to die. Why don't you understand that?" Tasha wailed. Her voice broke slightly, though I'm sure the pain from her wound was starting to make its presence known despite all the endorphins rushing through her bloodstream.

"Why do you need Guardian Belikov?" Abe asked gently, easing himself out from behind Pavel, much to his dismay if his expression was anything to go by. "You have a loving Guardian right behind you that would be more than willing to have a family with you. It's easy to see that he cares for you, why is he not good enough?"

"He's not Dimitri," Tasha responded simply, as if that explained everything.

While Tasha's attention was diverted, I turned mine to Roza. She had slumped to the ground after her wall of Darkness had been broken. She was breathing heavily with her eyes closed, a tired expression covering her face.

"Roza?" I questioned quietly, not wanting Tasha's attention back on my woman. "Roza, are you alright?"

"I'm tired, Comrade. I need food and sleep, but it doesn't have to be in that order." She responded, opening her eyes to look up at me. The fire that lived in her eyes was dim, but burning nonetheless, but she looked like she would need a full week of sleep to fully recover from this whole ordeal.

"Just hang on a little longer. This will all be over soon, I'll make sure of it." I said determinedly, wrapping an arm around her waist to lift her to her feet. She groaned lightly but consented to me picking her up.

Pavel and Abe were still negotiating with Tasha who was also looking very tired. Her attention was drawn enough to where I could ease our way around her. I made eye contact with Ethan on the other side of Tasha, and he gestured me over to him. I was hesitant to do so, which he probably saw on my face because he held up car keys for me to take.

I felt relief wash over me as I continued the slow and quiet journey around Tasha. If I could get Roza out of here, I knew Pavel would be able to handle everything else. My focus was on Roza and her well-being, and I couldn't be distracted by Tasha, she just wasn't that important to me. However, Tasha was a distraction, and Pavel was in the process of removing it.

"Let's get you out of here," I whispered, taking the keys from Ethan with a nod of gratitude. He mouthed an apology at me, but I ignored it. Regardless of his knowledge of the full plan or not, he was still willing to kidnap Roza just because Tasha asked him to.

I couldn't necessarily fault his dedication to the woman he loved, I know I would do anything for Roza without asking too many questions, but he still enabled harm to come to my Roza, and I wasn't happy with it. While I didn't want him to be punished too harshly for his misdeeds, I did want him punished.

Tasha had broken down into a loud sobbing mess as she clung her injured hand to her chest as we started rounding the corner of the house. That was the last glance I spared backward before picking Roza up in my arms and sprinting toward the cars.

Before I reached the one that lit up when I pressed the unlock button on the key fob, more cars came barreling down the road toward the house. The cars were the black standard Guardian cars, and for a second I was worried that Tasha had gotten in contact with more Guardians to take care of Roza.

I placed Roza down on the grass, passing her a stake that I'd tucked in my pocket, not that it would do much damage against a Guardian with a gun, but it gave her a little protection. Weaponless, I turned to the vehicles that were coming to a screeching halt around the two cars that we had driven here.

The vehicle that Ethan had given to me was still in a position to get out with little difficulty, so at the very least I could get Roza in the car and on her way, but I don't think she would ever leave me.

However, I realized that I didn't need a weapon or a plan to get Roza out of here without other Guardians following us. Hans was the first one out of the cars. He jumped out of the passenger side of the first car to approach before it had come to a complete stop. He rushed forward, heading to where Roza and I were with a look of relief on his face.

"Thank God you're alright. Princess Dragomir said that she'd felt the bond break. We contacted the Alchemists to get your last known location and saw that Pavel was also here. Are you guys okay? Do you need help?" Hans spoke in a rush, answering the question on why he was here and how he knew we were here.

"We're alright for now, just exhausted. Pavel and Abe, and the rest of them are dealing with Natasha Ozera. She and a couple others had kidnapped Roza yesterday, though we only knew that Guardian Tyler Nelson was in on it at first. You might want to go help them. Ethan Moore will go with you willingly, but I'm not too sure about Tasha. Nelson is dead, a Strigoi got to him." I explained as quickly as I could, still hoping to get Roza home and in bed soon so she could get a proper night's sleep.

Hans nodded sharply and signaled to several Guardians that had piled out of the cars behind him around the side of the house before turning back to us.

"You know you'll both have to come back to Court to explain and testify to the events of tonight, right?" Hans said slowly, looking a little hesitantly at Roza knowing she was the one that didn't really want to go back to Court.

"Yeah, I figured I would if Tasha made it out of this alive. Speaking of Court, how did you and a fleet of Guardians get here so quickly?" She asked tiredly from her place on the ground. She looked like she was about to pass out but was still fighting her body on staying awake.

"We're actually not that far from Court. Vasilisa was attending a Council meeting when she felt the bond break. She and Adrian are working on getting her place on the Council, so she's been attending the meetings, so she knows what's going on when she gets her spot." Hans replied. "Would you like for me to drive you two to Court? We can get you a room to sleep for the next day or so while we get stories from everyone else before we take your statements."

"Is that alright with you, Roza? I just want to get you somewhere safe and comfortable so you can sleep." I asked holding out a hand to help her up. She gently placed her hand in mine, but she couldn't provide enough strength to pull herself up so I bent down and picked her up in my arms.

"Anywhere where I can sleep sounds good to me right now, Comrade," Roza said with a chuckle.

"Then you two climb in the back of the car I came out of and I'll let the rest of my team know what's going on. I suggest that you let Pavel know what you're doing so he doesn't freak out. I'll have him inform the Alchemists that you're actually alive, although you'll have to explain that to me, also." Hans said gesturing back to the cars that were still running in the road.

I thanked him and carried Roza to the car, placing her in the car first and then crawling in beside her. She was already asleep, and I doubt that anything would wake her for another few hours.


	30. Chapter 30

Being back at Court was odd, and I was sure that once Roza woke up, she'd want to leave as soon as possible. There was no reason for her to be at Court anymore. She'd left for a reason, though I blame myself for most of it. I knew that she left with a purpose, and I was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back that ultimately solidified her decision to leave and pursue her dream.

She'd slept soundly the entire ride, but that was to be expected considering what she'd been through in the last thirty-six hours. While I also wanted to sleep, I couldn't. Hans was asking too many questions and each time I tried to put off answering them until we reached Court, he'd keep on asking. I honestly don't know how he came up with so many questions.

Releasing another tired sigh as we pulled up to the gates to pass through a security check, I looked down at Roza. She had a soft smile on her lips as she rested her head against my shoulder. Any signs of the past thirty-six hours had vanished as she received more and more sleep.

Hans gave us an apologetic look as he pulled up to Guardian housing. I don't know what he was apologizing for, I was about to get sleep!

"On such short notice, we couldn't really pull together a really nice room. If I had my say, you guys would be housed with the Palace Guard, but that's against protocol, so you're stuck with the same crappy Guardian dorm. However, there is a shower and a well-stocked fridge for when she wakes up." The head Guardian said with a chuckle and a wink as he passed over the keys to our room.

Looking down at the key, I saw a room number – my old room.

"Thank you. As soon as we're both awake, we'll be down in your office answering questions, but I ask that you don't have anyone waking us." I said, shifting out of the car after I received a confirming nod. Roza was still sound asleep, her eyes moving slowly behind her eyelids, but she wasn't waking any time soon, at least not for something like walking up a couple flights of stairs to sleep in an actual bed.

I moved around to the other side of the vehicle and gently pulled her into my arms. I nodded a farewell to Hans and made my way up to our room for the night, trying my hardest not to jostle Roza too much.

The hardest part was getting the door of our room open. I debated whether or not to set her down or to try to wake her up, but thankfully a passing Guardian recognized my dilemma and kindly offered to unlock the door for me.

I whispered my gratitude and made my way inside. I set Roza down on the sofa before closing and locking the door. Glancing around, I could see a few items I'd left here when I'd gone in search for myself.

I can't believe they hadn't already allocated this room to someone else.

Deciding I didn't care enough to ponder the reasons why I turned down both sides of the bed and placed Roza on the side furthest from the door. I placed the one stake I still had on the table next to the bed and drew the curtains closed, not wanting anything to disturb the sleep I was about to get.

I stripped down to my boxers before climbing in bed beside my Roza. It felt like it had been ages since she'd last been in my arms, and I couldn't help but release a contented sigh when she immediately rolled over and curled herself into my side.

I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before settling back against the lumpy pillow, almost instantly falling asleep.

I didn't know how long we slept, but when we both awoke, there wasn't light peeking around the curtains in the room, so that told me we'd been asleep for a while. Roza stretched out beside me, several of her joints popping as she gave an aching moan.

"How are you feeling, Roza?" I asked rolling onto my side to look at her. Her eyes were tightly closed as she finished stretching and popping.

"Like I could use a hot shower." She said, her limbs falling limp as she continued to lay in bed.

"Are you going to go take one?" I asked with an amused chuckle when she'd still yet to move.

"In a little bit. I've got to work up the motivation to get out of bed first." She said, opening one eye and turning her head to look at me.

"Would there be more of a motivation if I went with you?" I asked raising an eyebrow. With both her eyes open now, they followed the movement, and she gave an annoyed expression.

"Are you planning on joining me? Or are you just going to accompany me into the bathroom?" She asked, returning her eyes to mine.

"I'd planned on joining you, although, if you don't want me to do either, I could just lay in bed until you get back," I smirked as a frown took over her face.

"I don't want that." She said pushing herself out of the bed. As she stood to her full height, more pops echoed through the room.

"That doesn't sound healthy at all," I commented, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. Despite my opinion, my body protested the statement by giving a few pops as I stretched my arms over my head.

"If your body is making the noise, too, it has to be okay for mine." She laughed moving toward the bathroom. She peeled off the oversized, tattered t-shirt and dropped it in the trash bin before repeating her movements with her bikini, though she gave a sad sigh when she had to discard her swimwear.

Before she could step closer to the shower, I put my hand on her hip, halting her movements as my fingers gently caressed her skin. She turned her face up to look at me and gave me a dazzling smile. I returned her smile, but I busied my hand with tracing over her skin.

Not only did I want to feel her, to reassure myself that she was alive and well, but I also wanted to see if she had any wounds that might need to be checked out. All I could see was dried blood on her skin. I moved to stand behind her as my fingers splayed across her stomach.

With a quiet, breathy moan, she leaned back against my chest, her body molding itself against mine. I dipped my head slightly to press a kiss to her temple, as my eyes followed my hand in its journey across her body.

I kept my lips close to her ear, every now and then nipping the soft cartilage, as my hand moved up to softly stroke each of her breasts. Her chest was heaving, pushing her soft globes into my hand as I thoroughly inspected them for even the slightest scratch, there was none.

The hand that wasn't exploring her body rested lightly on her hip, holding her in place as she started grinding back against me. I pulled back slightly and turned her to face me. She gasped at my sudden movement and moaned as I dropped to one knee in front of her.

With one hand on her hip to steady her, I gripped her ankle to bend her knee, discretely checking it for injuries, though by now I'd known there weren't any, I checked anyway just to be on the safe side. I placed her leg over my shoulder, bringing her core closer to my face.

The inside of her thighs was warm, and I could tell she was already wet just from the smell. She placed one hand on my bare shoulder and the other one threaded her fingers through my hair. I held on to her hips to keep her steady and still as she sucked in a deep breath.

Her eyes were closed, head tilted back as her short nails scraped against my scalp. I inhaled through my nose, filling my mind with Roza and her pleasure. She rewarded my focused mind with a quiet moan.

"Dimitri." She sighed, pushing her hips closer to my watering mouth. I licked my lips in anticipation.

"Yes, Roza?" I muttered in my lowest voice. "Is there something you want?"

"I want you." She breathed, opening her eyes to look down at me with hooded eyes.

"You've already got me," I said, nuzzling the tight curls above her slit.

"I want you to eat my peach." She said with a wink. I never thought I could be turned on by a piece of fruit, but she somehow managed it. With a wicked smile on my face, I nipped gently at her thigh.

"As you wish," I muttered right before diving straight in. I moaned as her juices coated my tongue. It had been so long since I'd been this close to her, so long since I'd focused solely on her and her pleasure.

However, as my tongue delved deeper, bringing her closer to the edge of abandon, I recognized that by giving her this amount of pleasure, I was receiving some myself. I was getting more and more turned on by the sounds that were escaping her. Each moan had my blood racing faster and each time she screamed my name made my cock twitch.

Her knees started to quiver moments before her heat clamped down on my tongue. I groaned at the pulsing sensation and moved my hands further up her back to keep her upright. Her body was relaxed as the final shiver of her orgasm rocked through her.

I pulled back and rolled my jaw back a forth a few times.

"You really made me work for that one, Roza," I said huskily, looking up at her completely placid expression. She hummed in appreciation, her eyelids flickering open as she brought her gaze down to mine. I felt a cocky smirk take over my face as I lifted her into the shower.

I was aware that Hans was wanting to talk to us, and the sooner we got the questioning out of the way, the sooner we got to go home. Keeping this in mind, I kept the shower sex to a minimum, which is hard to do when the most perfect woman was doing everything she could to tempt me.

Eventually, I got us both dressed and presentable, striding into the Guardian headquarters while receiving a few odd looks from the surrounding Guardians. Roza ignored them, but I gave nods of recognition as we passed, heading straight into Guardian Croft's office.

He had a friendly smile on his face, though he looked much more tired than I thought he would have.

"It's nice to see that both of you are up and seemingly well rested." He said, gesturing to the seats in front of him.

"Thanks, Hans, we'll just be glad when we're back home and done with this mess," Roza said with a kind smile. I knew that the relationship between the head Guardian and my Roza was strained at first, but I could see in Hans' eyes that he truly cared for her and her well-being.

"Of course. I hope to have you home by the end of the day. I just need you to answer the questions that everyone else has been asked, and I ask that you try not to butt in too much while the other is recounting." He said with a meaningful glance between the two of us.

I told, well, retold my series of events, knowing that I had more insight into what Roza went through, but I still didn't know all of what she went through in her day there.

"That's pretty much what everyone else said, though you gave more detail on what Rose was going through. Do you wish to explain that? It seems to me that you speak as though you were there." Hans said.

"I'm sure the others explained it to you, also, but I think somewhere along the way with Roza being Shadow-kissed and all, we developed a bond. In a sense, I am also Shadow-kissed, though my shadow is being a Strigoi and not actually dying. She has what we call Darkness, and I have what we call Light. We balance each other. One of the fortunate side effects of our bond is that I can take the pain from Roza before she even feels it. It's what kept her fighting for almost three hours while we were on our way to her."

"It's not a fortunate side effect, Comrade," Roza muttered, but both Hans and I ignored her.

"Do you think you could elaborate on what you experienced, Rose?" Hans questioned, nodding in appreciation toward me and my testimony.

"There's not much to tell that Dimitri hasn't already shared. I didn't know who had taken me until I woke up and Guardian Nelson walked into the room. After giving him a piece of my mind, I finally quieted down enough to gather his reasoning, albeit insane, and started working out a plan of escape. However, because of the bond, Dimitri knew what I was planning and urged me to wait until they knew where I was so they could help." Roza explained, picking up my hand as an anchor.

I knew for her the events weren't traumatizing, just angering. I was the only thing keeping her calm at the moment, and I didn't want to think about what she might be like now that she'd had sleep and time to formulate a plan of revenge, not that she would act it out.

I think.

"So, in the time that passed between first understanding Guardian Nelson's plot, and their discovery of your location, what happened?" Hans asked cautiously.

"Tyler really just ranted about how I was 'the perfect prey.' Apparently, I was the ultimate opponent when it came to his twisted game of cat-and-mouse. When he wasn't ranting, he just stared at me. I know it sounds weird, but that's really what happened. I was honestly shocked that he didn't try anything, not that I would have allowed anything to actually happen, but it surprised me that he showed such restraint knowing what his game was."

"And what was Tasha's part in all of this?" He asked.

"I didn't know what Tasha was getting out of having me kidnapped and tortured until Dimitri showed up and revealed everything," Roza said with a shrug. "I never really liked her, and I knew she could cook up some wild story about why she thought I deserved it all, but I guess I never really thought that she would drag Dimitri into all of it."

"Hmm, well, I have enough information here to write up charges. I was waiting until after talking to you two to interrogate Guardian Moore and Lady Ozera, but if I have any further questions or I need to inform you of a trial date, I'll call you. As far as I know, your father has a plane ready to take you back to New York as soon as you're ready, so you might want to give him a call."

"Will do. Thank you." I said, standing to shake his hand, waiting for Roza to do the same before ushering us both out of his office and out of the building.

"Do you mind if we stop by to see Lissa, Christian, and Adrian before leaving?" Roza asked quietly. She looked a little nervous.

"I don't mind, but are you sure you want to?" I asked, pulling her to a stop.

"I don't know. I'm nervous. The bond broke, so Lissa probably thinks I'm dead, but I never thought that I would be back here, ever. When I left Court, I never wanted to come back. There was no reason for me to, and I know that I don't want to stay here. I'm afraid that if I see her, she won't let me leave again, but I'm not staying here." Roza explained, finishing with a determined foot stomp.

"She can't keep you here. You're not a Court Guardian anymore, so no one can make you stay here. It's up to you to decide if you want to let them know you're alive. If you have no intentions of ever seeing or speaking to them again, you might just want to send her an email or something to let her know you're not dead, but if you might want to try to patch up your friendship, I'd meet with them." I said, rubbing slow circles into the back of her hand, knowing the calming effect that it had on her.

"Will you be there with me?" She asked after a moment of quiet contemplation.

"Of course, Roza," I said with a gentle smile. I arranged for Abe to have the three Moroi in question meet us at his suite in guest housing. We'd be leaving Court after the meeting to meet Eddie in New York.

I kind of felt bad having him there pretty much by himself after he'd dropped everything to come help us find Roza, but I knew he was probably needing a few days off, and he'd be getting to spend some of that time with Roza soon.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Kiz," Abe said, enveloping Roza in a hug the moment she entered his suite. Pavel, Kyle, Christopher, and Jasper were all waiting patiently for their turn to hug her. Sydney was sitting uncomfortably on the couch, looking like this was the last place she wanted to be.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I went to sit beside her, waiting for Roza to come to me after her numerous hugs.

"It feels so wrong to be in the middle of your Court." She said, shifting uncomfortably. "I've gotten pretty used to Dhampirs and Abe, though he still makes me nervous sometimes, but there are more Moroi here then I can handle. I'll just be glad when I can leave."

"Why are you here, then? You and Jasper could have gone back to New York and waited for us to get back."

"I couldn't leave Rose like that, not when she might have needed us. I know she's strong and everything, but it's nice to know the people you care about care about you too, so this is how I show her I care." She said with a small smile.

"Well, I hope you'll be alright with three more Moroi. They're pretty nice people, and they'll most likely be focused on Roza the entire time and won't pay you much attention." I warned with a chuckle.

"Are these the three that she left behind when she came to New York?" Sydney asked with a worried expression.

"That would be them." I nodded, opening my arms as Roza made her way over to me, finally being released from the onslaught of hugs.

"They'll be here soon," Roza said, picking up on our conversation with a gentle smile. "If you get uncomfortable, you can leave, I won't be offended and neither will they."

"I want to be here," Sydney responded, sounding more sure than she had moments earlier. Roza gave her a thankful smile as she settled into the conversation that was flowing around us.

Abe was filling us in on Tasha's charges and the dates to expect for a trial, if it ever made it that far. If Tasha would just admit her guilt, we wouldn't even need a trial, and I knew Roza was hoping that she'd just plead guilty to spare everyone the time and effort of a court case.

Surprisingly, Roza began animatedly discussing the next hunting party, though Abe and Pavel looked like that wasn't going to happen any time soon. I silently agreed with them, wanting to keep Roza out of harm's way for a little while longer before she dove back in head-first, but I knew better than to keep Roza from doing what she wanted to do.

She and Christopher were in the middle of a laughter fit, caused by some sardonic remark made by Christopher, when there was a knock on the door. Roza immediately froze in place, her muscles tensing as she turned to look at me with wide eyes. I hugged her to me tightly as Pavel and Abe rose to answer the door.

I placed a calming kiss on the tip of her nose as a sniffle echoed through the room.

"Mr. Mazur. I'm assuming you're asking us to meet here because of bad news." Adrian's voice drifted through the front entryway. His tone sounded flat, but I would assume that the sniffling was Lissa, assuming the worst.

"Not at all, Lord Ivashkov," Abe responded cheerfully. I heard shuffling at the door, and Roza scrambled to her feet to greet her depressed friends.

Adrian was the first to enter the sitting area, followed by Christian as Lissa clung weakly to his arm. Adrian froze in place, eyes widened in shock, surprised tears sitting on the rim of his eyes. Lissa was looking down, discretely wiping her eyes, when Christian also spotted Roza and froze, bringing them both to an immediate halt.

Lissa first looked up at Christian in confusion before looking around the room. Her eyes released a stream of tears as her wide eyes finally landed on Roza.

"Rose?" She squeaked in a broken voice.

"Hey, Liss."


	31. Chapter 31

**RPOV**

She charged at me with a force that caused me to stumble back into Dimitri. He chuckled as he braced against me, keeping me from falling into his lap with Lissa, but I couldn't find the amusement to chuckle as my best friend clung to me.

It was weird not having the bond, to not be able to sense what she was thinking, to not know how she was feeling. I didn't realize how reliant I'd become on the bond to read my best friend until it was gone. It had been there for over two years. It had become a part of me, a part of us. I felt like we would probably need to restart our entire friendship, but that was more to the way I left things between the two of us, the way she'd treated me after Dimitri's restoration, than the loss of the bond.

"You're here." She mumbled through her tears, tightening her arms around me with a strength I didn't know a Moroi could possess. I knew we had a lot of things to work out, but right now I was content to let her hug me.

"I'm here, Lissa," I whispered, meeting Adrian and Christian's gazes across the room. I expected the shocked expressions I found, but I didn't expect either of them to be shedding tears, yet they both were, Adrian a little more shamelessly than Christian.

"Rosie?" Christian hesitantly asked. I narrowed my eyes at him causing him to chuckle. Adrian just stared and stared. It was a little disconcerting to see him so speechless.

"Hey, Sparky." I greeted chipperly. "If it wasn't for Liss, my fist would be in your face."

"I'm sure it would be." He scoffed, quickly wiping the traitorous tears from his eyes, trying to adopt a snarky smirk, though I could see his happiness shining in his eyes.

Our regular banter caused Lissa to release another sob as she continued to hold me close.

"Little Dhampir. Where have you been?" Adrian finally asked stepping slowly toward me. As if sensing someone else might want to embrace me, even though I'd had enough of the hugging for the rest of the week, Lissa released me only to be engulfed by Adrian's warm embrace.

It still amazed me that he had so much muscle on his body. I mean, it wasn't like Moroi were nothing but skin and bone, but it wasn't every day that you ran across one with toned muscle like Adrian, though I'm not sure how he kept it toned, I'd never seen him work out, ever.

"You know me, Adrian, I'm never content if I'm not out on some crazy adventure." I chuckled, breathing in the scent of alcohol and clove cigarettes. Strangely enough, I missed his hugs.

"How are you here?" He whispered. "Lissa said that she felt the bond break."

"It did break," I said, and another sob ran through Lissa who'd fallen into Christian's arms now that mine weren't holding her up.

"Why don't you all sit down, and we'll tell what we can," Abe said gently, guiding Christian and Lissa to a nearby sofa. I went to sit next to Dimitri, but he pulled me into his lap, leaving Sydney between Adrian and us.

"Sorry," I muttered to Sydney, but she waved me off only looking slightly uncomfortable with the playboy Royal sitting next to her.

"Hello, cupcake," Adrian said, pulling his most alluring smile as he looked over Sydney. Jasper released a growl from his position against the wall, but Adrian ignored him as he focused his attention on the Alchemist.

"Hi," Sydney responded briskly, looking more uncomfortable now that she received direct attention.

"How are you alive, Rose?" Lissa asked, her voice still slightly waving, but she seemed to have stopped most of the tears. "I felt the bond break. The only way the bond can break is if one of us dies, but you obviously aren't dead."

"Well, Liss, I did die," I said, taking Dimitri's hand in mine when he tensed below me. I tried my best to send him calming thoughts as I know he really didn't want to have to relive my death again. Living it the first time was enough for him.

"You died?" Adrian asked stunned, his eyes flitted around my body, probably looking at my aura. "Your aura is the same, Darkness is still surrounding it."

"I've still got Darkness, and I'm still bonded, just not with Lissa," I said, knowing that I wasn't really answering any of the questions running through their minds. I didn't realize until Christian walked into the room that he probably didn't know about his aunt and what she did to me. I knew for me to explain everything that happened I would need to tell them how I died, but I'd hoped that I could be vague enough not to disclose the person who killed me.

"I'm confused," Lissa said, though I could have told from her face that she was confused, as was everyone else.

"Why don't you start with what you've been doing since you left Court," Christian said, trying to be helpful, but Lissa put up her hand to stop me from replying to Christian's suggestion.

"No, how 'bout you start with why you left Court without telling anyone." She said, her confusion replaced with anger and betrayal.

"I told Adrian and Guardian Croft," I mumbled quietly but only received an angrier look from the Dragomir Princess. "I never belonged here, Liss. From the get-go, I was never going to become your Guardian. I'd already broken so many rules, so many laws trying to restore Dimitri. I'm a great Guardian, but face it, I'm not good with answering to authority."

"What do you mean? You were on the path to becoming my Guardian!" Lissa exclaimed.

"No, Liss. Hans was never going to give me that position. The Queen was never going to agree to that. You're too valuable for a troublemaking Guardian to be assigned to you. After running away from the academy the second time to go on a Strigoi hunt and taking you outside the wards without informing anyone, I was never going to be able to make it up and become your Guardian. Plus, I'm pretty sure that Hans suspected that I had everything to do with breaking Victor out of prison, but I'm not going to tell him the truth behind that."

"But you also helped save Lissa and me! Not to mention the good you did over in Russia while you were on your Strigoi hunt." Christian interjected.

"It shows I'm good at killing, it doesn't show that I'm good at guarding. Since there isn't a group sanctioned by Court or the Guardian Council tasked with Strigoi hunting, I decided to go off on my own. I'd intended to go alone, backed by my father and his resources, but he insisted that I take some back up. Christopher and Jasper were that backup. Dimitri showed up a few days after I got to New York and wouldn't leave. We worked things out, and he is also assisting us in cleaning up the streets of New York, though we haven't gotten the chance to do much hunting."

"You've been in New York this entire time?" Adrian asked, showing a little anger that I'd been so close to them this entire time, yet they hadn't thought to look this close to home.

"Yep," I responded, only feeling slightly bad for abandoning all my friends. At the time, it seemed like the best thing to do, but now that I had Dimitri back and was thinking in a rational state of mind, I could see how traumatizing it would have been for them.

"How did Dimitri find you? We couldn't even do that." Christian asked gesturing to Lissa and Adrian.

"My grandmother called me the day I left Court and told me a plane was waiting for me to take me to my destiny, or something like that, I can't remember the exact prophetic wording, but the plane took me to Roza, New York technically, though she didn't seem to want anything to do with my destiny," Dimitri said with a pointed smirk. "Abe hired me as her personal Guardian, though, again, she didn't want anything to do with me."

"I said we worked it out," I grumbled before turning back to lighter topics. "In that time, we discovered that the Darkness had completely embedded itself into my being. It was a part of me, but it didn't control me. We also found that Dimitri had something we call Light. Where my Darkness comes from living when I should be dead, Dimitri's Light manifests his life, walking in the light after walking amongst the dead. It's a little confusing when you think of it like that, though."

"We found that my Light balances Roza's Darkness, they work in tandem. They have the same sort of power properties that Spirit has, but we feed off emotions rather than blood. When Roza died, I used my power to bring her back, she's still Shadow-kissed, she's still bonded, but she's bound to me instead of Lissa." Dimitri finished explaining.

"How'd you die?" Lissa whispered, scared to know the answer.

"I was shot," I stated plainly, hoping that they wouldn't ask by whom, but being the good friends that they were, they wanted to know.

"Who would have shot you?" Adrian asked, looking more than a little offended that someone would even think about shooting me.

"His name was Guardian Nelson, he had his reasons and motivations that really make no sense unless you're him." Dimitri established with a far-off murderous look, cutting off any further questions into motivations and reasoning behind the situation leading up to my second death.

"Wow, Little Dhampir, you've died twice in this one life. I don't think anything can kill you for good." Adrian muttered after a little while. I laughed loudly.

"Well, Adrian, I think I'll hold off on the third death as long as possible. You know what they say about the third time." We chuckled at the thought, but I felt that Dimitri didn't find the humor in thoughts of my death.

"So what are you going to do now?" Lissa asked, worry etched deep into her face. I could see then the toll that my abandonment had taken on her. She'd had to grow up. She'd had to take responsibility and face her problems head-on, and now she didn't have anyone to take her Darkness for her, so she'd have to deal with that now, also.

"I'm going back to New York," I said, carefully watching her reaction. She leapt to her feet shaking her head violently.

"No! You can't leave again! You just got back!" She yelled, stepping closer before Christian pulled her back to his chest. Tears began to form in her eyes again.

"I'm right there with her, Rose," Adrian said, though he voiced his complaint a little quieter than Lissa did.

"Look, guys, the only reason I'm here is that I had to come to answer Hans' questions. I never planned on coming back to Court. I don't belong here. I belong out there protecting everyone that isn't inside wards." I said calmly, hoping my soothing tone would ease their worries and protests.

"What if we work to get Strigoi hunting parties?" Lissa said, straightening up from her slouched position in Christian's arms. Though the tears were still in her eyes, she'd adopted a more regal appearance. She looked like she'd move mountains to try to get me to stay, and I suppose with what she was suggesting, she would be moving a metaphorical mountain.

"There's no way that you could get both the Moroi and the Guardian Councils to agree to that. Besides, that would take forever to push through, and, no offense Liss, you don't have a lot of power without another relative for the quorum." I said.

"We're working on that," Adrian interjected.

"But if we could get their approval of a Strigoi hunting program, would you stay?" She asked, looking hopeful.

"If by some miracle, you can get your spot on the Council and get both Moroi and Guardians alike to agree to hunting parties, I would come back and lend a hand, but I can't guarantee anything. I don't know how they would be run, and you know I'm not huge on reporting to authority. Besides, I'm not sure that many Guardians would willingly risk their lives to actively seek out Strigoi as I would."

"We'll worry about that later," Lissa said, a huge smile spreading across her face at my half-acceptance. Not that I had little faith in her, but there was just no way that an age-old law was going to be changed so Lissa could have her rightful spot on the Council. There was also no way that Moroi were just going to agree to put Guardians at risk without any promised results.

Before anyone could determine Lissa's plan, Pavel's cell phone rang. He froze as the person on the other end relayed orders. His eyes flicked to me, and I released a sigh, wondering what I could possibly have done now.

"Rose, the queen has requested you and Dimitri in her chambers immediately," Pavel said after hanging up.

"The queen wants to see me? And Dimitri?" I asked perplexed, looking over at Adrian for answers, but he just shrugged at me with a look of nonchalance.

"That's what Hans just told me," Pavel said with an apologetic and worried expression.

"Well, we better get going?" I stated with uncertainty. Dimitri had a little worry leaking into his eyes, but for the most part, he just looked curious. "Would you guys like to wait here until we get back?"

"Yes," Adrian responded immediately, his eyes cutting to an uncomfortable Sydney, his attention making her look even more uncomfortable. I saw Jasper stiffen from his position against the wall, but he made no move toward the flirtatious Moroi. Christian shrugged, looking toward Lissa for her answer, she just nodded and went back to her thoughtful expression.

Dimitri took my hand and walked us, with purpose, to the queen's chambers. The Guardians on either side of the doors looked at us with obvious curiosity as they opened the doors after announcing us.

Giving my hand a final reassuring squeeze, Dimitri released his grip and pulled on his Guardian Mask. Only at this moment did I realize that he hadn't masked his emotions or expressions in all his time in New York. I pulled my own mask into place as I quickly glanced around the room.

Her quarters were a lot more casual than I thought they would be. For some reason, I thought that she would live in a plush, velvet-lined room, but what I observed was much like the sitting room that Baba's office had, without all the colorful pillows. I also noted that there were no Guardians in the room, only outside. Whatever the queen had to say to us, she didn't want anyone else hearing it.

"Your Majesty." I greeted with a bow of my head. She actually smiled at me! Not a tight smile that meant she was just barely tolerating my presence but a real, genuine smile. I felt Dimitri bow his head behind me, but he didn't verbally greet our queen. I suppose that he believed the real reason the queen wanted us was to talk to me.

"Hello, Rose, it's good to have you back at Court, you as well, Dimitri. Do you plan on staying long?" She asked conversationally, gesturing to the couches opposite where she was seated. I hesitantly complied, though Dimitri decided to remain standing, his mask firmly in place regardless of the stress I felt coming off him.

"We're just here for a few more hours, then we'll be leaving," I stated, trying to get a read on the Moroi Queen. She was a little fidgety, and a spark of anxiety flashed across her face as I told her our plans for departure.

"Well, I was hoping that you would accept a mission. Despite your unpredictability and brashness, you're the only one I can trust with this mission. Of course, I would also hope that if you accepted, Guardian Belikov would help you accomplish it." Tatiana said, jumping back into her serious royal demeanor.

"A mission, Your Majesty?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, but I'm no longer working at Court," I stated.

"No, you're currently on an indefinite leave of absence, but you never retired from your role as Guardian. I'm asking you to end your leave for a Royal Mission. I can't force you to do this, but I was hoping that you would do this to help Vasilisa."

"How would a mission help Lissa? What would the mission be?" I asked, trying to find a hole in her logic.

"I can't go into details until you accept. This would be one of the few ways that Vasilisa can get her seat on the Council. She needs her spot. She needs to be able to vote on upcoming issues. I'm trying my hardest to push back the radical parties, but I can't do it without more support. Vasilisa would provide that support. She has a following even if she doesn't know it yet." Tatiana explained.

"She can't get her spot back because of the quorum. You need to change that for her to get her seat." I explained.

"The time it would take to change the quorum…it would be too late." She said, looking between the two of us with pleading eyes. "Please. I want what's best for my people, all of my people. That includes the Dhampirs. I know you don't think that highly of me, and really that's my own fault. I thought that you were an irrational girl with no respect for authority, but I've come to realize that you're really just passionate about those you care for, and you won't let anything stand in your way, even if it is logic itself. I need your help. I really can't do this without you two. You are the only ones that I trust with this. You're also the only ones that I know can accomplish the impossible. I know because you've done it before."

I looked over at Dimitri to gauge his response. His eyes were already on me, his Guardian Mask in place, though his eyes told me to accept the mission that was being presented to us. I nodded, mentally making my decision and turned my attention back to Tatiana.

"Alright, we accept," I stated, unsure whether or not I should regret my decision, especially since I didn't know what it was yet.

"Oh, thank you!" She exclaimed, slouching in relief. I was shocked to say the very least, seeing the reigning monarch slouching. I saw Dimitri raise an eyebrow and had to fight hard not to laugh at his equally shocked expression. "Dimitri, would you mind joining Rose so we can discuss the particulars?"

"Of course, Your Majesty," Dimitri responded with a courteous nod and moved swiftly to sit by my side. Now that he was sitting next to me, I could feel the anxiety radiating off of him in addition to the stress I felt coming through the bond.

I took a long look at Tatiana as she tried to compose herself. While she wasn't too terribly old for a Moroi, she certainly showed the signs of stress her job came with. Any other time I'd seen her, she'd had this air around her that signified grace and poise, but right now, in her private chambers, I could see she was just tired.

She looked old, but hope shone in her eyes as she looked between Dimitri and me. She seemed to be aging by the minute as she decided how to word our mission.

"I know what you're going to say, but I need you to keep an open mind. I can't be one hundred percent sure that my information is correct, but I trust my source enough to know it is something that's probably seated in the truth. I need you to find someone. I don't know who they are, where they are, or even an inkling on what they look like, but I still need you to find them."

"How do you expect us to find someone when you know nothing about them?" I asked, starting to see how she'd want us to accomplish the impossible.

"I don't know _nothing_ about them, but I don't know a lot about them." She said looking more worried. Perhaps she also recognized just how impossible this mission was. Sure, I found Dimitri out of thousands of Strigoi in Russia, but I also knew him. I knew how he thought. I knew what he looked like, I knew his name. If I don't have at least one thing to go off of, it's truly going to be impossible to find one person out of billions.

"Tell us what you can," Dimitri said, he rich voice soothing my nerves, and apparently, the queen's also.

"I need you to find the illegitimate Dragomir child so Vasilisa can have her spot on the Council." She stated in a rush of air.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that again?" I asked after blinking several times. Dimitri was equally as shocked, though he didn't need a clarification. I'm just making sure I heard her right.

"Vasilisa isn't the last Dragomir. Another lives."


	32. Chapter 32

"Why did I agree to this?" Roza asked as she moved slowly down the halls of the palace. Her eyes were wide and her face pale after taking in all the information that the queen could give us on Lissa's sibling, which wasn't a lot, almost nothing.

So, with almost nothing to go on, we left the queen's chambers and started a very slow trek back to guest housing. I was fairing a little better than Roza because I didn't know Erik Dragomir, and I knew that it was common for royals to have affairs, even if it was out of character for this particular one.

"To be fair, you didn't know exactly what you were agreeing to when you agreed to do it," I stated looking down at her with concern.

"How's that supposed to make this better?" She asked, finally turning her head to look at something other than the space in front of her.

"I don't suppose that it was meant to make this better, but it should make you feel better about agreeing to do it. Try not to think of it in such a negative way. This is pretty much the only way that Lissa is going to get her spot on the Council without taking years to accomplish it." I pointed out, hoping she would focus less on Erik's discrepancies and more on the positive outcome of it all.

"It could take us years to track down even a clue as to the identity of this long lost Dragomir child." Roza countered, her face glazing over with thought.

"How bout we rope in a few trust-worthy people? Your father would be more than happy to lend his resources, and Sydney is excellent at research and has access to an entire database that we don't know anything about, perhaps she could find something neither of us could?" I offered, hoping to make this task sound less daunting than it actually was.

In all actuality, there was a very small possibility that we would find the child within a year. The way the queen was speaking, we probably didn't have a year before something drastic would happen. What could be happening that even the queen couldn't stop?

I shook my head clear of any thoughts that didn't pertain to the matter at hand and turned my attention back to Roza, who was deep in thought.

"I suppose we could ask for help, but I'd rather not have my father involved with all of this, or if we need something from him, not to involve him in the particulars. Sydney will probably be the best bet for finding the kid, but I don't want to involve very many people. I don't want to risk this getting out before we want it to." She stated as we paused outside of guest housing.

"Why not?" I questioned.

"Lissa may have her supporters, but she also has people who oppose her, who don't like her progressive way of thinking nor her liberal attitude toward Dhampir. Should it become known that there is another Dragomir, something might happen to Lissa or to this sibling. There must be a reason that they haven't been revealed as a Dragomir, and I would bet it's because of their safety." She explained, looking around to make sure no one could overhear us.

"Alright. We include Sydney and leave out Abe until absolutely necessary. We'll have to come up with a reason as to why we're leaving with only Sydney." I stated, hoping that she'd already thought through that problem.

"Right. I'm thinking that we can spin it in terms of Alchemist activity. We can tell them that the queen has put us on a secret mission involving the Alchemists, and we have to leave for a little while. We should probably find a place to set up camp for a while, a home base of sorts that we can work and live out of."

"Sounds good to me, but you're the one that gets to tell all this to your father. He's not going to be very happy about it." I stated opening the door for her. A worried expression crossed her face before she shrugged and headed up to the room.

She took a deep breath before turning the doorknob. Almost immediately, Abe was out of his seat and in front of us, a worried expression painted on his face.

"What did the queen want? She's not going to punish you for leaving Court, is she?" He asked. It was then that I understood what Roza's disappearance did to this man. He seemed smaller than he used to, scared. He was scared to lose his daughter, of course, I was, too, but he was nothing like the slithering serpent that usually instilled fear into the hearts of men, women, and children.

"No, Baba. I took an indefinite leave of absence. She can't be upset about me leaving when I went through the proper channels. She just wanted to talk, but before I can tell you what we talked about, we need to speak to Sydney. She's going to be a part of this, and we need to discuss the details so she knows what's going on." Roza said, gently taking Abe's hand in hers, reassuring her father that she was still there with him, though I don't think he would take our sudden departure kindly.

Even though he gave a puzzled look, Abe stepped aside as a confused and slightly panicked Sydney stepped forward. I stepped to the side, holding the door open for the two of them to walk through. At first, I didn't know where Roza was taking us, but then I recognized the pathway back to our room. I didn't know how secure it would be, but most of the neighbors should be at work right about now.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about? If I'm going to be a part of this, shouldn't the queen have spoken to me also, or at least the Alchemists?" Sydney questioned when I'd closed the door to the small room. She plopped herself down in one of the chairs and looked up at us expectantly.

"The queen doesn't technically know you're going to be involved with this, but I told her that I may need to find some trustworthy assistance with carrying out our task. She's assigned us to a mission, a secret mission. We need you researching skills and your connections to the Alchemists' information network." Roza began.

"What's the secret mission?" Sydney asked, both intrigued and hesitant.

"We've been tasked with finding someone that we know very little about, and when I say very little, I mean _very_ little, like, next to nothing," Roza said, stressing that the job would be difficult, but I think, judging by the glint in Sydney's eyes, that she took the implication as a challenge.

"Who am I finding?" She asked, narrowing her eyes, accepting the challenge.

"The other Dragomir," I stated from my position against the door. Sydney's wide eyes swiveled quickly to meet mine, a silent question forming in her irises. A question to which I answered with a solemn nod.

"Erik Dragomir had an affair at some point in time. We don't know when. We don't know with whom. We don't know where. We just know he had one, and it resulted in an illegitimate Dragomir child, one that we need to find if Lissa is going to get her place on the Council." Roza explained.

"You were right, that is next to nothing to go off of," Sydney mumbled, a thoughtful expression covering her face.

"Do you think it's doable?" Roza asked, worry lacing her tone.

"If I have time. It won't get done in an hour, or even a day. Give me a week, tops, and I'm sure that I can dig up something useful." She responded after a few moments of contemplation.

"Wonderful. Now, as I said, this mission is secret, as in no one can know. Meaning, we can't do anything at the house in New York. This is another thing that we needed to discuss with you. We're going to find a place to set up a mission headquarters, of sorts, that we can run this operation out of for the time being. I was thinking somewhere not too terribly far from Court. Do you know anywhere that might do the trick?" Roza asked.

"There are several places that I can think of, off the top of my head, in West Virginia that are secluded but close enough to civilization to be convenient." Sydney provided. "I'm also assuming that we're not going to be able to tell you father or take any of the Guardians."

"You'll have the two of us. Arguably the greatest Guardians alive." Roza said, placing a hand to her chest in mock offense.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Sydney glared.

"I know." Roza sighed, giving the feisty Alchemist an apologetic look. "No, you can't bring Jasper with us. It's not that I don't trust him, believe me, I do, but we need to keep this between as few people as possible for the time being."

"I figured as much," Sydney mumbled, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath. "It's okay. It's not like we're dating, anyway."

"You're not?" I asked, surprising myself more than Sydney for asking the question. Roza's need for information was rubbing off on me.

"No. He hasn't bucked up enough courage to properly ask me, and I'm not going to be the instigator, not that I don't think the woman can make the first move, but I'd rather him take the initiative." Sydney said shrugging like it was no big deal, but I knew that shrug. That shrug meant that it was a big deal to Sydney, even if she didn't want it to be. Roza had the same shrug.

"Well, it's his loss. Maybe this time apart will make him realize what he's missing." Roza said with an overexaggerated wink. Sydney chuckled while rolling her eyes before standing.

"Let's go explain what we can to your father. Do you know how we're going to get to wherever it is we're going? I figured that once we'd gone back to New York, packed, and were on our way, I could research places that we could use." Sydney said, gesturing to the door.

"That sound's fine. I had hoped to take at least one of the bikes with us, we'll probably need two vehicles at some point, but I hadn't thought much about the logistics of this endeavor." Roza said, looking back at me for my input.

"We can take a car and a bike, or a truck with the bike in the bed." I offered, not really knowing the car demographics of West Virginia.

"Trucks are common enough in every state not to stand out." Sydney supplied while also voicing her vote on the vehicle situation. Roza looked a little disappointed that she wouldn't be able to drive her bike through different states, but I was pleased. I knew Roza could drive the thing, and drive it well, but I'd much rather be driving it while she was pressed tightly against me.

"Then we'll get a truck," Roza stated, her voice falling a little flat, and I couldn't help but chuckle at her, though she didn't find it was amusing as I did and shot me a glare instead.

"There will be plenty of opportunities for you to ride Sasha when we have to scout information." Sydney soothed. "I don't think I should go into the field with you guys. Just be in the information in your head. I'll probably just end up in your way otherwise."

"I'd feel much more comfortable knowing that you were safe, but I'd hate to just leave you behind by yourself while we go out and investigate," I said, barely getting out the last words before there was a knock at the door.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but I turned and cracked the door open slowly. The urge to roll my eyes was strong as the emerald green eyes of Adrian Ivashkov peered at me with a hint of amusement. He raised his hand to give a small salute and cocked his head to the side before speaking.

"Well, are you going to let me in?" He asked. Against my better judgment, I opened the door fully and stepped aside to let him in, but only because of Roza's sweet voice in my head telling me to do so.

"What are you doing here, Adrian?" Roza asked with slight annoyance.

"Why, Little Dhampir, you wound me with your tone," Adrian said, placing a hand to his chest, though his hurt act dropped as soon as Sydney shifted in her chair, drawing his attention to her. "Hello, Cupcake, it's nice to see you again."

"Hello, Lord Ivashkov," Sydney said stiffly, her eyes narrowing slightly at his sudden behavioral shift.

"What are you doing here, Adrian?" I asked, mimicking Roza's earlier annoyance.

"My beloved aunt sent me with great news." He said enthusiastically, clapping his hands together and spinning to face me. He looked genuinely thrilled, though his movements dripped with sarcasm. "I'm going to be accompanying you on your adventure. She doesn't want a physical link between herself and what you two are attempting to do, so I'll be there to relay information on a day to day basis if need be or just whenever."

"Well, we were just telling Sydney that she won't be coming into the field with us, and the same will go for you," I said crossing my arms over my chest, getting ready for any opposition he might have, but he had none.

"That's fine with me. I wouldn't want to get in your way. I trust that the two of you can handle yourself in any situation you find yourselves in, but I'll be checking in on you every night you're gone to make sure that nothing new has happened. Having a link between you and Ms. Sage here would be expected, especially if the call is coming from Rose, but on the off chance that you don't have anything to report to Sydney during the day, or whatever schedule we're going to be on, I'll check in on you during the night." Adrian explained, apparently having thought everything out in advance.

I saw Roza narrow her eyes at the Moroi Lord as she tried to figure out how he'd pulled himself together in the brief time since we'd left to talk to the queen. She sent a questioning look toward Sydney, but she only responded with a shrug. All of this happened in a matter of seconds, Adrian having no idea what was happening behind him.

"So, what's the plan?" He asked after the few seconds of silence had persisted. He turned back around to face Rose, sparing one glance at Sydney as he spun.

"We were just working out the specifics. We're going to go back to New York, pack, and drive toward West Virginia. Along the way, Sydney will find us a decent place to stay as our command center. For as long as it takes Sydney to dig up something useful, we'll be there. Until we know something useful, we can't really create a plan other than Dimitri and me going to following the leads that Sydney give us." Roza explained. Adrian nodded and looked over at Sydney.

"So, it will be just you and me while the Wonder Twins go out and do the dangerous job?" He said, a confident smirk covering his face. Had he said this months ago, Sydney probably would have scowled and stayed silent, but I personally think, much like myself, she'd been spending too much time with Roza and her sarcastic attitude.

"Oh, joy. Rapture. I can't wait." She deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest and adopting Roza's signature sassy stance. Roza was looking extremely proud at the way Sydney handled herself, but Adrian was, for once, at a loss for words. His confident smirk disappeared as his jaw dropped slightly, a look of hurt flashing in his eyes before determination took over.

"Well, I can see that you've been spending a little too much time with my favorite Dhampir." He said finally, even going as far as giving a little 'hmph' at the end.

"Is there something wrong with that, Adrian?" Roza asked, taking up her signature sassy stance, though her eyes narrowed slightly as she awaited Adrian's response. Adrian quickly shook his head, now having two powerful females before him, giving him the same sassy stance, their arms folded across their chests, both looking equally as unamused.

"No, of course not, Little Dhampir," Adrian muttered quickly before turning back around toward me. He gestured with one hand to the door and gave me a questioning look. "Shall we go tell the others as little as we can?"

I looked over his head at Roza, and she gave a slight nod, my permission. I nodded and opened the door without a word. Adrian led the way back to guest housing in silence. Sydney was walking beside him stiffly while Roza had fallen into step beside me, her soft hand slipping into mine perfectly.

Raising her hand to my lips, I conveyed my love for her with my eyes. Hers shone in admiration as she returned my loving look. I didn't know what I would do without her, and thankfully, I don't think I'll ever have to find out.

When we walked into the room, it must have been a sight to behold. The usually carefree Royal Moroi looking a little dejected while the usually serious, unreadable Alchemist wore an amused smirk. When we were met with questioning looks from those in the room, Roza and I shrugged our shoulders and sat back in our previous spot on the couch.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on, Yeğen?" Pavel asked with a sigh of annoyance. Neither Abe nor Pavel liked being out of the loop just like Roza, and trait she had inherited from her father no doubt, and I doubt they would like it less knowing a little about the loop but not knowing everything about the loop.

"Dimitri and I are being sent on a special mission, orchestrated by the queen herself. She's partnering us with the Alchemists and had Sydney be our liaison, and Adrian will be accompanying us as our connection between Court. We'll be accompanying you back to New York to give Sydney, Dimitri, and me a chance to pack some clothes before we leave. We don't know how long we'll be away nor when we'll be back, but we'll keep in touch as often as possible. That's all we can tell you." Roza stated, ignoring the looks of protest from her father and uncle and the lost, pleading looks from Lissa and Christian.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" Abe asked finally, acceptance replacing his horrified look.

"Nothing right now, Baba," Roza replied gently. "If I need anything, you'll be my first call."

"Just make sure you let me know you're alive and well as often as possible, daily if you can. Your old man worries you know?" Abe said, a gentle smile he reserves only for Roza taking over his expression.

"I know, Baba. I'll try my best. Besides, I've got Dimitri to take care of me, and you know he won't let anything bad happen to me." Roza said with a wide smile, taking my hand in hers. Pulling my gaze from hers, I met her father's worry-filled eyes and vowed my life for hers in a moment of silent determination.

"Of course, Kiz. I take it you won't be taking along any of these three?" Abe asked, gesturing to the younger of the Guardians lining the walls.

"Not this time, Baba. If we need help, they'll be the first people we'll ask for back up, but going into this, we don't think we'll need much help in terms of muscle." Roza said shaking her head.

"Then I suppose we'll need to be heading back to New York in the near future?" Pavel said, breaking the awkward silence created by a dejected Abe and an apologetic Roza.

"Yes, as soon as possible, really," I responded.

"I'll let our pilot know. I'll meet you at the airstrip in a couple hours." Abe said, waving for Pavel to follow him out the door. Roza nodded silently and looked over at Lissa, whose eyes were filling with tears once again. Christian still had his arm wrapped around her, but he was fairing a little better, probably because he knew that Rose would come back to see Lissa eventually.

We said our goodbyes and accompanied Adrian back to his quarters to watch him pack. In my opinion, he overpacked, but I was a kind of man that was comfortable with jeans and t-shirts as my only wardrobe selection.

Two hours later we were on the plane heading back to New York. We were about to embark on a mission that had no guarantee of being successful, but if anyone could accomplish the impossible, it was Roza.


	33. Chapter 33

"Roza," I moaned, rolling away from the teasing beauty and her attempts to wake me to try and get a few more minutes of sleep. What with the long drive from New York and the christening of our new accommodations, I was swamped. I figured she would be too, but I was wrong.

"Come on, Comrade." She chuckled kissing my shoulder blade. "We've got work to do, and I'm sure that Sydney is already awake."

I released another moan but threw the blankets off my naked body before moving into the bathroom, hoping a cold shower would wake me up. Much to my enjoyment, Roza joined me, though, much to my displeasure, she wouldn't let me do much other than gently caress her body. She seemed rather intent on getting straight to work.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" I asked as I stepped out of the shower at a normal pace whilst she rushed to her duffle to retrieve clothing.

"The sooner we start on this mission, the sooner we find the lost Dragomir, the sooner we get to go back home." Roza listed, pulling on black shorts and a red tank top. From the teasing way she wiggled her hips getting into the shorts, she also seemed to be torturing me.

I growled from my position in the bathroom doorway but controlled myself enough to walk to my duffle and dress myself. I'd barely begun pulling my shirt over my head before Roza flung the door open and rushed out into the hallway.

I still didn't understand why she was in such a big hurry. A few more minutes of sleep or a few distractions in the shower weren't going to stop a full day's work from being accomplished. We didn't even know where we were starting in our search, so it wasn't going to hurt to slow down and think things through all the way, but she was more eager to begin than to listen to me.

She'd already descended the stairs by the time I made it out of the room. Adrian emerged from his room down the hall looking sober but less-than-thrilled to be awake at a decent hour.

"How is she moving so quickly?" He muttered, running a hand over his face before blinking a few times, after which he looked much more awake than he had previously.

"She's eager to start and complete our mission. She works faster when there's something for her to accomplish." I said with a shrug and started my way downstairs. I knew that she would need to eat soon before her stomach started sounding like a tiger, or worse, mine started sounding like hers.

As a Dhampir, I was accustomed to the regular hunger that we would have to endure before it was socially acceptable to eat another giant meal, but sharing Roza's hunger has been an enlightening experience. I can honestly say that I have no idea how she survives more than a few hours with her stomach twisting into itself. She'd probably consume mass quantities every other hour if she could.

As Roza had suspected, Sydney was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop, ignoring stimulus around her, but Roza sat patiently beside her, her foot tapping as she waited for Sydney to find anything. I had a feeling that she'd be sitting there for a while.

A few minutes later, Adrian came down the stairs looking much more awake, though he did make a direct line for the coffee machine. He also seemed to be anxious as he sat at the table on the other side of Sydney with his cup of coffee, but that could have been withdrawal symptoms.

Adrian had vowed to stay sober through this entire process. Roza was impressed, as was I, but when she reminded him that this could take months, I saw a little fear seep into his expression. However, since his declaration, he hasn't had a drop of alcohol and that was over a day ago.

The kitchen was well stocked, a feat I don't know how Sydney managed, and was ready for me to make the four of us breakfast. Switching back to human time wasn't hard for Roza, Sydney, and me, but for Adrian, it would probably take him a few days.

Sydney had managed to find us a cabin in the middle of the Appalachians of West Virginia. It had a very modern feel to it, lots of windows to allow light filtered by the canopy. The wood was rich and warm with stone accents to give it a more rustic feel. The cabin had two levels. The first level was the living area, half bath, a full bath, kitchen/dining room, and a single bedroom. The upper level had the master suite (which Roza and I were sharing) that contained its own bathroom, a third bedroom, a full bath, and a large balcony area with a dining area.

Being tucked away in the woods, there wasn't anyone out here to disturb us and it was unlikely any Strigoi in the area would stumble across it. If that should become a reality, Roza and I would be more than equipped to deal with a few stray Strigoi. There was a large enough clearing around the cabin that Roza and I could use it as a workout space, and I always enjoyed running through the woods more than running around a track, more obstacles to dodge.

The only problem with being so secluded was the nearest town being over a half-hour away, meaning if we needed anything urgently, it probably wasn't going to happen.

"Did you settle on a place to start looking?" I asked, the question directed at Sydney, breaking the silence that had formed over the sound of sizzling bacon.

Her head moved quickly to acknowledge my presence and to notice that Roza and Adrian had taken positions on either side of her.

"Yeah. I started thinking about how I could possibly track a lost child and decided that I probably couldn't track the child, but I could track the parents. Since we already knew one of them, we would just have to find the biological mother and then the kid." She stated.

"So, what does that mean?" Adrian asked, his coffee cup running dangerously low, and he still didn't look fully awake.

"I'm tracking Eric Dragomir's movements to figure out where and when he might have had this affair. I don't know if you remember, Rose, but a while back I called you asking about some files that had been accessed thinking that you were the one that hacked the Alchemists."

"That wasn't me!" Roza said, holding her right hand up to further validate her statement.

"I know it wasn't, but at the time you seemed to be the only one I could think would tamper with these specific files. The files were on Eric Dragomir. Someone was probably trying to figure something out about him or hide something about what he did. However, since all of our files are digitalized now, there's no way for them to be lost or damaged completely." Sydney said, looking back down at her laptop. "I just found some suspicious activity with Eric's bank account and I'm going to try to track the transactions. They're just transfers, so it's probably some sort of child support."

"How do you know he's not just paying off some sort of loan or something?" Adrian asked, getting up to refill his coffee.

"Because that would be tagged in the transaction, but the descriptions for these transactions are vague and nondescript. If anyone was looking closely enough, this activity would be highly suspicious, but given the amount of money the Dragomirs had, this transaction amount isn't really all that suspicious." Sydney explained, gesturing to her computer screen, probably to point out the aforementioned money transactions.

"Well, can you see where the money was actually going?" Roza asked, leaning closer to look at the screen, though from the squint of her eyes, she didn't really know what she was looking at.

"Yes, but it will take a little bit of time accessing the other bank's information. Whoever this is was smart and used a bank that Moroi wouldn't usually. The Alchemists maintain access to banks that multiple Moroi use just to make sure nothing seedy is going on." I could almost see the pointed look that she gave Roza at the mention of seedy Moroi business. I wonder why the Alchemists hadn't done anything about Abe's business ventures. "However, the Moroi that Eric had the affair with seems to have known a little about the Alchemist way and went with a bank that wasn't monitored by us. I can do it, but it will take time."

"That's fine. We don't want to rush anything right now." I interjected, turning off the stove and pulling plates from the cabinet. "Breakfast is ready, and before you do anything else, you will all eat."

I felt slightly old for having to keep track of who is eating or not. I knew Roza would eat, but I'd known Sydney to skip a few meals because she got sidetracked with something. She did seem to look a little disappointed, but after a pointed look from myself, she put her laptop to the side and fixed herself a plate.

"Would you like to go for a run after breakfast, Comrade?" Roza asked with her mouth full of bacon. I chuckled at the look on her greasy face before answering.

"That would be fantastic, Roza. Both of you are welcome to join us, if you'd like." I said, extending the invitation. Sydney quickly shook her head, gesturing with her hand to the laptop as she chewed her food. Adrian seemed to contemplate the notion for a long time, looking between Roza and Sydney before shrugging and giving a slight nod.

"But don't expect me to keep up." He said squinting outside. Even with the cover the trees provided, I knew the sun wouldn't make things easier for him. "Perhaps I could do yoga on the front lawn."

Roza snorted at the thought but didn't make a remark, which was probably a good thing considering her mouth was overflowing with toast and eggs. I simply gave a shrug, and we finished our meal in silence.

It was no surprise that Sydney finished first. Not only did she eat the least, another surprise considering there was a Moroi at the table, but she also ate the quickest, probably wanting to get back to her task as soon as possible.

Nothing seemed to faze her as the three of us tidied up the kitchen and moved outside. Roza and I stretched while Adrian laid down on the grass.

"What are you doing?" Roza asked with amusement in her voice.

"I'm doing yoga," Adrian replied, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"It seemed like you're going back to sleep." She quipped, folding her arms across her chest and cocking a hip.

"It's called the corpse pose. It's supposed to be very regenerative." Adrian informed, opening one eyelid slightly to give her a cocky grin. I chuckled at the interaction while Roza just rolled her eyes.

With a shared nod, the two of us set off into the woods. The sun had been over the horizon for a few hours but was still rising steadily into the sky. You could hear birds chirping and the chatter of squirrels in the distance, but as we approached the noise died off as the critters scattered.

There was already a slightly worn path leading further into the woods, but Roza jumped over the brush to the left and started her own course, the steadfast pounding of her feet against the earth encouraged me to follow in her wake.

Despite the season, it was relatively cool, but that could also be due to us being nestled in a valley of the mountains.

"Would you really consider going back to Court should they allow sanctioned Guardian hunting parties?" I asked, breaking the silence and causing Roza to stumble in her stride. She recovered quickly, though her face had adopted a thoughtful, worried expression.

"Would you be alright with it?" She asked cautiously. "That's one of the reasons I left Court, aside from the obvious, but hunting is my calling. While looking for you in Russia, my time spent with the rogue Dhampirs was enlightening. Not only was I ridding the world of evil, but I was also keeping people safe. Being their makeshift leader of sorts ensured that they stayed safe."

"So, you would want to lead one of the hunting parties?" I asked.

"I want _us_ to lead a hunting party. If Lissa can really accomplish what she suggested, we could be spearheading a group of Guardians. I'm not prepared to lead a group of Guardians by myself." She responded, looking over her shoulder to see my reaction before focusing her attention back in front of her so she wouldn't run into anything.

"Do you know what this could mean for the Moroi world?" I asked, still considering leading a hunting party that consisted of more than Roza and her friends.

"It means that we could bring the Strigoi numbers down. It could instill fear in Strigoi, making them think twice before they consider attacking any Moroi or Dhampir." She said, going for the obvious answer.

"It could also mean that more Dhampirs become Guardians. Should this program take effect, there could be more Dhampirs completing their Guardian training in order to join a hunting party." I pointed out, thinking of the rogues she'd met in Russia while looking for me. "The possibility of fewer rogues means there would be fewer Dhampir deaths because of senseless attacks on superior Strigoi by Dhampirs that didn't graduate because they didn't want to dedicate their lives to ungrateful Moroi."

"I never thought about that." She said slowing her pace. Her direction had shifted back toward the cabin as we started our way back.

"However, you do know that Lissa will be needing more protection than ever once we find her sibling, right?" I questioned cautiously.

"I know." Came the flat response.

"Would you stick around to provide her protection? Or her sibling?" I asked, knowing that it was a difficult question with a complicated answer.

"I don't know." She sighed. "I know that if Lissa was in immediate danger, I'd step in to provide protection in a heartbeat, but this…this is all circumstantial. We don't know that she'd become a bigger target. For all we know, she could be welcomed with open arms! As for the sibling, I'd still protect them, but stepping in when the danger is right in front of me is one thing. Waiting is another thing entirely, and it's something I'm not very good at doing."

"You are one of, if not _the_ , best Guardians to exist in the current moment. Your protection alone could serve as a deterrent for a would-be assassin." I provided, not necessarily trying to sway her decision, but I'd seen how her friends reacted to the news of her death, even if it wasn't true. She was loved and needed. Her friends needed her, and they couldn't have her if she just wanted to go off killing Strigoi on her own.

I understood the calling. I had it. I didn't realize I had it until Roza offered it to me, but I had it. It's what I'm meant to do, but I'm also meant to keep Roza happy. Her happiness was doing what she loved and being with those she loved. She didn't just love me. She loved her friends too.

"The best answer I can give for now is a 'maybe,' Comrade." She sighed, slowing to a walk as we neared the edge of the clearing leading back to the cabin.

Adrian had abandoned his corpse pose in the hour we'd been gone, and was currently in the half-lotus position. I didn't know if he had actually been doing yoga in our absence, but he at least had moved.

"Well, I'll be damned, he's actually done something other than just laying there." Roza quipped with a little chuckle. As we made our way across the lawn, Adrian opened his eyes to observe us.

"You guys are looking very matchy-matchy." He commented when we were close enough. I looked over at Roza to see what she was wearing, but it wasn't even similar to what I was wearing. "Not in how you're dressed. In your auras. They're very complimentary."

"What does that even mean, Adrian?" Roza asked, sitting down across from him and stretching out her legs.

"Well, Little Dhampir, it means that where your aura is mainly dark, his is mainly light. But it isn't overwhelming. When you were bonded with Lissa, the darkness that tinged your aura was threatening and ominous, but now that you're paired with Belikov, it's like your Darkness is happy? It seems a little counterintuitive, but that's the best way I can describe it."

"So, we shouldn't be worried?" She asked, looking up at me as I observed the two from a distance. While I wasn't worried about Adrian's affections toward Roza anymore, I still didn't exactly get along with the man. I had a feeling it was going to take a little while to get used to him, but I'd do it because it would make Roza happy.

"No, I don't think so, but I'll let you know if something changes." He said with a cocky grin and a little shrug.

"Have you been sitting out here the entire time?" Roza asked after a few moments of slightly awkward silence.

"Yep. I decided that I didn't want to do yoga, so I tried meditation. It took me a little while to get the hang of it, but I found it extremely promising." Adrian replied, his eyes shining in hope.

"Promising in what way?" I asked, curious as to the hope I saw in his expression.

"I'm hoping that it will help with the anxiety." He stated.

"Like the Darkness-caused anxiety?" Roza asked, her voice full of understanding.

"Yeah. I've always dealt with the Darkness the way that I first figured out I could handle it, drinking. I'm assuming Lissa did the same sort of thing. She found that physical pain helped and stuck with that method. I found alcohol first and have stuck with is ever since, but since I've sworn off alcohol for the remainder of this mission, I needed a different coping mechanism, and I had a feeling that you guys wouldn't take too kindly to the whole bloodletting thing, so I went with this. I've only done it for fifteen minutes, but I'm feeling better than I was this morning, so I'm optimistic."

"That's great, Adrian!" Roza exclaimed, jumping up from her spot and offering a hand out to Adrian. He took it and we all headed inside, hoping that Sydney had found something in the last hour that could be helpful.

"Any luck, Syd?" Roza called out, going to the fridge to grab a bottle of water for herself before tossing me one.

"Kind of?" She responded, looking up from her screen with an exhausted look. I'm assuming that she'd had some progress, but from the look on her face, it wasn't very promising.

"I got access to the bank records, but the account was under the name 'Jane Doe.' Not really helpful. Looking at all the account information, there was a POD listed, but I really don't think it's going to be helpful either." She stated rubbing a hand over her face.

"Is the POD another fake name?" Adrian asked, sitting next to Sydney and looking at the screen for himself. His eyes scanned for a moment before they widened, and his face went white. "Nope…definitely not a fake name."

"Who is it?" Roza asked quickly, not liking Adrian's reaction in the least. "Why won't they be helpful? Please tell me they aren't dead!"

"Not really?" Sydney answered with a little wince.

"Well, if they aren't dead then…oh," I said, understanding exactly what they were saying. "They're Strigoi."

"Yeah," Sydney said, answering the statement as if it was a question. The room chilled slightly as the information percolated. I kept my eyes on Roza, waiting for her reaction. She seemed to be contemplating something, but I hadn't the slightest clue as to what it was. Sydney was also watching Roza, probably waiting for a positive reaction. Adrian was watching Sydney, his eyes scanning her face in admiration. Had I been a better friend to him, or a friend at all, I would talk to him later about his intentions with the spunky Alchemist.

"Who is it?" Roza asked, breaking the silence. She sat down on the other side of the table, her head hung, though her shoulders were pulled back in determination.

"Sonya Karp."


	34. Chapter 34

"Are you sure?" Roza asked for probably the twentieth time.

"I'm absolutely sure," Sydney replied, sounding just as annoyed as the first time Roza had asked.

"It's just…are you sure?" She asked again. Her body had gone into shock as the identity of the Strigoi informant was revealed. I was just as surprised as Roza, though I'd never known Sonya while she was still Moroi, I imagine it was the same sort of feeling knowing that Galina was turned, but worse considering Sonya turned on her own volition.

"If I change my answer, will you believe me enough to stop asking me that question?" Sydney finally broke, almost growling out the sentence, not that Roza was taken aback by it, she was still in shock. I'm surprised it took her this long to break, but she seemed to be trying to figure out how to gain the needed information without having access to the person who knew it. It was the same puzzle I was trying to solve, but I'd yet to come up with a solution.

"I'm sorry," Roza mumbled, resting her elbows on the table in front of her and dropping her head into her hands. I didn't even want to try and comprehend the puzzle Roza's mind was trying to work through.

"So, what does this mean for the mission?" Adrian asked, breaking out of his own shocked silence to ask the question I'd been too hesitant to ask. However, when he looked toward me for an answer, I knew I was probably the one that was going to provide an appropriate response, probably best seeing that the females were still working through their own mental scenarios.

"I'm not sure. The only person that we know of that has a connection to the mystery mistress is Sonya Karp, not that it's going to do us much good considering her current state, if she's still alive…or would it be undead? Anyway, if we knew where she was, we could possibly get her to tell us who the mistress is with a little persuasion. There's a chance that Sonya is a relative of the woman considering that she is the POD. It is odd, however, that the person never went in and changed the POD when Sonya turned."

"Maybe she doesn't know that Sonya turned." Roza provided, letting her arms fall back down on the table with a loud thunk.

"I highly doubt that. The news of her transformation was widely spread in the Moroi world, there's an extremely small possibility of her not hearing about it." I theorized, sitting down in the seat next to Roza seeing as this could potentially be a lengthy conversation.

"So, going in and changing it probably would have meant that someone would ask too many questions," Adrian stated.

"Probably," I answered with a nod. "Sydney, is there a way that you could potentially find Sonya? I'm not sure how wide the net Alchemists cast is and if it encompasses Strigoi, but finding Sonya could be our only chance in the near future as to finding this lost sibling."

"If the Strigoi are of high priority we can track them, but I'm not sure if Sonya Karp falls under that umbrella, but I can try," Sydney said, a newfound determination taking over her expression as she immediately started typing away at her laptop.

"What are we going to do if we find her?" Roza asked, looking a little dejected.

"The same thing you did with the Strigoi in Russia when you wanted to find someone," I answered. I'd heard Roza was looking for me fairly quickly after she arrived in the city. A group of rogue Dhampirs taking down Strigoi and interrogating them, that kind of news travelled fast despite the Strigoi's aversion to teamwork.

The whispers of a dark huntress had reached my ears, an American nonetheless, and I'd known immediately it was Roza. My Roza. At the time, I felt annoyance at her presence in Russia, she wasn't supposed to be there. She was supposed to be in Montana, finishing school, and staying as far away from me as possible.

However, Roza never was content with staying where she should have, and I couldn't be more grateful for her rebellious behavior.

"You want me to interrogate my former teacher?" Roza asked, looking at me as if I'd grown a second head. It really wasn't the craziest thing I could ask her to do. She was already on this impossible mission, why not add another insane task to the list.

"You have no trouble interrogating dozens of Strigoi you've never met, killing them if they didn't have the information you were looking for, but you have a problem with questioning your former teacher for information that could be vital to getting Lissa her seat on the Council?" I asked, challengingly raising an eyebrow.

"That was different, Dimitri, and you know it." She huffed, falling back in her chair while throwing her arms up in frustration. I could see her resolve wavering, though. I knew if I played the Lissa card enough, she'd give in. It seemed the Adrian had also picked up on that piece of information.

"Why does it have to be different?" Adrian asked. "You were doing what you did in Russia for your love of the Cradle Robber; you can do this for your love of Lissa. Besides, it will only be one Strigoi, not dozens. It will be easier this time. Not only have you had practice, but you've also had experience fighting someone you knew in Strigoi form."

"Exactly," I agreed, though I did narrow my eyes at his continued use of an insulting nickname. "You can think of this as an act of love. You might not be trying to free her soul of eternal evil, which we can if we find her and get the information, but you could be helping her change things in our society for the better."

" _If_ , and that's a big 'if,' Sydney can find Sonya Karp, I will do what it takes to extract the information from her." She sighed at last. I saw Sydney's mouth twitch in a slight smile before her face evened out as she continued to click away. I figured this would be another push for Sydney to find Sonya, just so Roza would have to keep her promise.

Adrian looked amused and excited, but I wasn't sure if his excitement was the progress of the mission or because he'd soon be getting to spend some alone time with a certain Alchemist while Roza and I were out looking for Sonya. I'm not sure which reason unsettled me more.

"Excellent!" Adrian exclaimed, clapping his hands together and receiving an odd look from Roza. "In the meantime, what are we doing? I know you two basically have degrees in it, but I'm not really good at this whole waiting around doing nothing thing."

"Well, Dimitri and I are going to go upstairs and shower because we smell like the forest, but I don't know what you're going to do. You should try finding a hobby, maybe read a book? If Sydney does find Ms. Karp, you're going to be doing a whole lot of waiting until Dimitri and I can get any information out of her." Roza said with a smirk, rising to her feet and offering me her hand, which I quickly took before standing to my own feet.

Before either of us could hear a response from Adrian, we were already making our way up the stairs. I did, however, hear some mutterings over the sound of Sydney's keystrokes that I figured were Adrian's peeved remarks.

Roza and I took our time in the shower, making up for the rushed morning routine that Roza had put me through. Her muscles were tightly wound, and I was still having trouble comprehending that she had died a couple days ago. It felt like weeks had passed since that horrible night, but the world around us was moving so quickly that is only seemed that way.

Perhaps I would have a chance to process everything that had happened while we waited for Sydney to find something, anything, but thinking about the determined look on her face suggested my wait wouldn't be as long as I thought it would be.

"What are you thinking about?" Roza asked, breaking me out of my thoughts as she rinsed the suds from my chest with her gentle caress.

"I'm just starting to process everything that had happened in the past couple of days," I stated, unconsciously pulling her closer to my body to reassure myself that she was still there, alive and well. Images of a bloodied Roza, lying lifeless in my arms assaulted my mind before I had a chance to block them out.

"It seems crazy to think that a week ago we were hunting Strigoi through the streets of New York City, never planning on going back to Court, let alone doing a top-secret mission for the queen." She chuckled, purposefully skirting over the fact that she had died. I knew she didn't like to think about it, I didn't like to think about it, but it kind of needed to be discussed.

"Roza…you died," I said, pulling back to look at her face completely. The stream of water was flowing over her shoulders, capturing her hair in its flow. "You lost your bond to Lissa. You'd had that bond for three years, does that not bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me, Dimitri." She muttered, pulling me back to her and pressing her cheek against my sternum. "But I don't like to think about it. I could have lost you that night."

"I almost lost you, Roza," I mumbled into her hair. My heart clenched at the memory of holding her body in my arms, sobbing because I'd thought I'd lost her. "Hell, I did lose you for a minute."

"I'm not too upset about losing the bond with Lissa." She said after a little while, the sound of the shower being the only thing to fill the silence. "I mean, I'm grateful for what she did, but I didn't ask for the bond. Once we understood what the bond meant and how it formed, I felt obligated to use it to protect Lissa. I know that's what Anna did for St. Vladimir, but she had a love for protecting Vlad before the bond formed. I felt like the bond took away some of my choices in life."

"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled that she'd never mentioned this back at the academy.

"I knew I wanted to guard Lissa after we graduated, but after the bond had formed, I felt like I _had_ to, like it wasn't my duty anymore but my debt. It was like I was paying for the life she saved by signing it over to her. There's always a chance that we don't get assigned to the Moroi that we were hoping, and for a little while, I didn't think that I was going to get assigned to Liss because of the stunt I pulled in finding you. At that point, I wasn't sure I wanted to be a Guardian anymore. My sense of duty had shifted, and it wasn't on Lissa anymore, and the fact that I wasn't assigned her Guardian made it easier to make my choice. The only challenging thing was dealing with the bond."

"Did you not want to become a Guardian because of what happened with me?" I asked quietly, smoothing the hair away from her face while tilting her chin up to look at me. Not that she would ever lie to me about something like this, but I needed to see that she was telling me the truth.

"In a small way, yes. I'd seen what being a Guardian had done to you when you lost your best friend. I know I told you that I wouldn't let anything happen to Lissa, but you'd probably promised the same thing to Ivan. You were alone after Ivan was killed, and then you found me. I was convinced that I wasn't going to allow Lissa to die because I was going to do such a great job protecting her, but then you came along. It was challenging, but I'd still promised myself that I wouldn't let anything happen to Lissa, and you'd be there to help me if I should fail."

"What changed?" I asked.

"You died." She stated, resignation in her voice. Even though she'd brought me back, I'd still died, but she'd come to terms with that, just as I would have to come to terms with her death. "You died, and I was going to be alone should something happen to Lissa or any Moroi I guarded. Before I met you, I was convinced that even if something happened to my Moroi, I would be able to deal with it and move on and do my job better the next time, but after seeing how you handled Ivan's death, I didn't think I was strong enough to have another Moroi should something happen to mine. So, I decided that I could protect the Moroi by ridding the world of Strigoi. If we didn't have as many Strigoi, I wouldn't have to worry as much about any Moroi, mine or otherwise, dying."

"As noble as that sounds, I doubt you could have taken on the entire Strigoi population." I chuckled, resting my cheek on the top of her head.

"No, but I could have made a difference. I have made a difference. For every Strigoi I kill, I probably save at least a dozen people's lives." She theorized, her arms wrapped tightly around my waist as the water slowly turned cold.

"We should probably get out and see what progress has been made. Either with Sydney's findings or Adrian's path to self-discovery." I said, reaching behind her to turn off the shower. She reluctantly peeled herself away from me and reached for the towel on the other side of the shower door.

I watched hungrily as she slowly ran the towel over her curves, immediately regretting the decision to leave the shower and join our friends downstairs. However, I'm not sure how often I feel comfortable having sex with other people in the house. I knew it was in Adrian's nature to make crude remarks should he hear us, and he most likely would considering Roza was a very vocal partner, but Sydney was so uptight that I didn't want to piss her off.

On the other hand, I don't think I'd be able to keep my hands off of Roza that long. Perhaps on our trip to wherever Sonya was Roza and I could possibly rent a hotel room for a little alone time. I'd have absolutely no objections to that, and I doubt that Roza would either.

"Are you going to stand there staring or are you going to dry off also?" Roza asked, looking over her shoulder at me with a seductive smirk.

I fought off a heady growl and stepped out of the shower, gently taking the towel that she'd wrapped around her body and using it to dry my own. She huffed in the most adorable way, rolled her eyes, and strutted back into the bedroom.

I watched with great interest as she bent down to retrieve an outfit for the rest of the day. Whether it was unconscious or not, her ass swayed gently to a tune in her mind as she dug through her bag, drawing me nearer with each beat.

Against my better judgment, I walked right past her, though I did stop to give her a light kiss on her head, receiving a gentle sigh from her. I went to my own bag, pulling out jeans and a shirt before getting dressed. I sat patiently on the bed, watching through the door as Roza fixed her hair and applied minimum makeup to her face.

"You know you don't need that, right?" I asked as she screwed her mascara wand back into its tube.

"I know I don't, but it makes me feel like I've got more control over what people see in me. Besides, I'm pretty sure your opinion is biased on a grand scale, so I can't really take your word for it." She chuckled, pulling me out the door by my hand.

"I'm pretty sure dating you makes me an expert when it comes to beauty, yours especially," I said, placing the hand that she wasn't latched on to over my heart in mock offense. Even though she wasn't facing me, I could feel her rolling her eyes as we approached the kitchen where the sound of keyboard keys could still be heard.

"Don't ask her if she's found anything!" Adrian's voice called out from the living room. "She gets a little grumpy answering the same question over and over again."

"I wouldn't get grumpy, Ivashkov, if you didn't ask the question every two minutes. If you gave me a reasonable amount of time in between asking me, I'd be a little more understanding." Sydney called out, stopping her typing and looking angrily in Adrian's direction. "Besides, I'm not grumpy."

"I already told the Wonder Twins that I'm not great with the waiting thing," Adrian remarked. I took a curious glance at Roza's face to see how she would react to the two bickering. She had a large smirk plastered on her face as she stared down Sydney.

Sydney, for her part, looked as innocent as she was pretending to be. I think Sydney's time spent with Roza and, recently, the other three Guardians had made her less uptight, and much more accommodating of Dhampirs. Roza seemed to know something I didn't, though, judging by the glint in her eyes.

I knew that Adrian was interested in Sydney, but I knew, despite the understanding that Sydney had found with Dhampirs, she would never reciprocate the Moroi's feelings. It went against the very nature of her culture and early beliefs.

"Don't give me that look, Rose. I don't like it." Sydney muttered, quickly picking back up her typing and ignoring us.

"Whatever you say, Sage. Just don't think I won't tell you 'I told you so' _when_ the time comes." Roza chuckled before meandering into the living room where Adrian was. I grew more confused at Roza's statement as a slight blush crept over Sydney's face. She couldn't possibly have feelings for Adrian, could she? No, it isn't possible.

"Hey, Little Dhampir." I heard Adrian greet before tuning them out. I stayed in the kitchen, looking at Sydney quizzically.

"May I help you with something?" She asked, barely sparing me a glance when I still hadn't moved on or said a word after a few minutes.

"Not really. I'm just trying to decide what to do." I stated, taking a seat at the table with her. "Do you need help with anything?"

"I hate to say it, but I'm hungry. Do you think you could make something for lunch?" She asked, looking up with pleading eyes. I'd seen that look before from Roza.

"You've been spending entirely too much time with Roza," I muttered while shaking my head.

"I heard that, Comrade!" Roza called from the living room.

"Love you, Roza!" I called back before making my way over to the fridge to figure out a plan for lunch.

"Mhmm." I heard muttered before all went quiet, aside from the clacking of keys.

"Why did you say that you'd hate to say it?" I asked, turning my attention back to Sydney.

"I've never been one to eat much, but as you said, I'm spending too much time with Rose. Her appetite is growing on me. Plus, she says I can stand to gain a little weight." Sydney responded quietly, glancing toward the doorway to make sure she didn't receive a rebuttal like I had.

I didn't say anything in response to that, only giving a hum that could be interpreted however she chose. I didn't think it polite to comment on a woman's weight, even if I did agree with Roza, nor was I going to fake a socially acceptable comment and tell her that there wasn't anything wrong with her weight.

Lunch was almost done when Sydney shouted in triumph, causing me to drop the pan I was holding. The clattering sound was ignored as Adrian and Roza rushed into the kitchen, hoping the shout was good news.

"I found her!" Sydney shouted, looking surprised and proud all at the same time.

"Where?" Roza asked at the same time Adrian asked, "How?" Sydney chose to answer Roza's question first, but it left us just as puzzled as before.

"Paris."


	35. Chapter 35

"As in Paris, France?" Adrian asked bewildered, though the look of excitement was deep in his eyes.

"Yes, Ivashkov. I'm going to send you all the way across the Atlantic Ocean for this one Strigoi…no, you idiot. Paris, Kentucky." Sydney responded, rolling her eyes in a move that could only be described as distinctly Rose.

"You're feisty, Cupcake," Adrian said, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms. "I like it."

Sydney didn't even grace his comment with a response, other than a heavy sigh, another move that was distinctly Rose.

"You ever been to Kentucky, Comrade?" Roza asked with a smirk.

"I haven't had the pleasure, yet," I responded with a slight shake of my head. "Where in Paris, Kentucky are we going? Do the Alchemists have an address?"

"Not really. We've got a general location, as in the city she's in, and description of the house, but we haven't had enough cause to actually get the address. She keeps a quiet presence in the town, travelling to the nearby larger cities to hunt but never bringing them back to her house to raise suspicion. She's been pretty tame as far as Strigoi go."

"If she's never given reason to keep an accurate location, why do the Alchemists know her general location?" Roza asked, voicing the same question that was floating around in my mind, perhaps it was my question that she voiced or her question that invaded my mind.

"Some empathetic soul caught wind of the mission Guardian Tanner had set for himself and started looking into it. By the time they found out anything useful, it was past Tanner's deadline and wasn't of any use to him. It was filed away in case it could be used later, and, lucky for us, we can use it." Sydney explained.

"I'd completely forgot about Mikhail's plight," Roza muttered, sitting down across from Sydney with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"What do you mean?" Adrian asked, sitting down in his seat beside Sydney, much to her apparent discomfort.

"I mean, he was pretty much in the same situation as I was with Dimitri except he didn't accomplish what he set out to do. He didn't set her free, and he most definitely didn't discover a way to reverse the Awakening process." Roza described, her facial expressions changing microscopically, but I could see her distress as she thought back to her promise to free my soulless body.

"Is there a way that we could help her?" Sydney asked after an uncomfortable silence.

"We could," I answered cautiously. "Adrian, as a Spirit user, could restore her. However, I'm not sure if he has the highest healing capacity that is needed to restore her. Between Roza and me, we can hold her and make sure that, if it works, she's not going to be a harm to him, or if it doesn't work, she'll be dead either way."

"That is if Adrian is up to the task," Roza said, looking to Adrian with indifference. I knew that Roza had a new perspective on restoration, considering how I treated her directly afterward, but she also knew what it was like being separated from the one you loved because they lost their soul.

"Would you be willing to teach me what to do?" He asked, a spark shining in his eyes. "I've always wanted to do more than dream walk and see auras."

"I'm not sure how much I can do in terms of teaching you how to use Spirit to heal, but I can teach you to stake a Strigoi properly. Lissa never really had to learn how to heal, she just did it."

"Is there any other Spirit user you know that could teach me? We could always call Lissa." Sydney suggested sheepishly. I could tell that she was hoping we could successfully use the information she'd worked to acquire for us.

"I don't think it's a good idea to call Lissa, mainly because she knows we're on a mission for the queen. I know someone else who could possibly help, but she isn't the best with healing either. Again, I'm not sure if we should call her."

"I am skilled in dream-walking," Adrian suggested with a smug look on his face.

"Can you dream walk anyone? Even if you haven't met them?" Roza asked in amazement.

"It helps if I've met them, but I can also find them with your help. Kind of like a bridge. I'll dream walk you and use your experience with her to find her. I haven't actually tried it before, but I've felt the ability to make the connection. With you, in fact, I've been able to feel the desire to connect with Belikov, and I've almost made the connection between you two, but I didn't."

"That's a little creepy. Does it only work if the person you're dream walking thinks of the other person?" Roza asked, leaning forward, her interest piqued.

"I mean, I can slightly manipulate the dream to make the person I'm dream-walking think about another person subconsciously, but I can't make a bridge without the original dreamer thinking about the other person," Adrian explained. "At least, I think. As I said, I haven't actually done it before, just felt that I _could_ do it."

"It's worth a shot. We'll try it tonight. Regardless of if this works or not, when are we leaving?" Roza asked, looking over her shoulder at me.

After Sydney's outburst, I'd finished lunch and was leaning against the counter waiting for someone to notice their hunger. I could feel Roza's hunger simmering in the pit of her stomach, but her excitement at the new information had stamped down her hunger. It was only a matter of time.

Roza leapt to her feet with a look on her face that suggested she would unintentionally ignore the answer I gave her, but only because her focus was on food.

"If you can learn how to restore a Strigoi, theoretically, of course, we'll bring Sonya back here. It's going to be dangerous traveling with a live Strigoi, meaning we can only move during the night, but it will be safer than bringing you with us." I explained, looking at Adrian instead of trying to answer Roza in this instance. We'll work out the details of our departure when her hunger is quenched.

I was excited. I was looking forward to the prospect to reuniting two lovers in the manner it ought to be done. While I still feel a twinge of guilt when I think of how I treated Roza when I was restored, that doesn't mean every restored Strigoi would act as I had. If we succeeded in restoring Sonya to her former state, I would make it my personal mission to have a happy reunion between her and Mikhail Tanner.

Plus, if Sonya was able to lead us to the lost Dragomir, it was possible that we would be around to see the love blossom yet again. With another Dragomir to get Lissa her spot on the Council, it was likely that Lissa would be able to fulfill her promise to Roza and get Guardian strikes approved.

However, I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay at Court. I'd seen what that society did to Roza, what it did to me without me really realizing it. I'm sure that change was in the near future if Lissa could only get her spot on the Council. I'm not sure if I was looking forward to potentially leading a raiding party, but I knew I would do it if that was what Roza wanted.

Speaking of Roza, she was eagerly devouring her food as I sat staring at her with what was probably a highly admiring look, which could be considered creepy since she had been shoving food in her mouth like a crazed woman.

"What?" She questioned, irritation present in her voice, as her fork was halfway to her mouth.

"Nothing. Your appetite still intrigues me is all." I stated, a small smile still living on my face. She rolled her eyes and continued eating, though I noticed she made an attempt to consume a little more daintily than before, not by much.

"Are you guys sure you want to do this? I mean, this is only the first lead we have, it doesn't have to be the only lead, I can keep looking. I may be able to find a better lead that won't put you two in as much danger." Sydney stated, opening her laptop hurriedly.

"Don't worry about it, Sage," Roza interjected. "We're used to being in danger, and, besides, it will give us that opportunity to help someone else other than Lissa. This could benefit more than her. If you want, you can look for another lead, but I don't think we're going to need it. I think Sonya will be able to give us the information we need."

"Are you sure?" Sydney asked, her fingers hovering precariously over her keyboard, ready to type whenever Roza said the word.

"I'm sure," Roza said with a gentle smile. Her plate cleaned, but her fingers twitching for more. I could see her sparing a glance toward me before getting up and helping herself to another heaping plate of food.

"There is a reason I make so much food," I said when she gave me a guilty look. At first, she gave me a broad grin before it quickly fell.

"I'm going to take that to be a sweet loving gesture and not you calling me a pig." She said as she plopped down in the seat beside me.

"I'd never call you a pig, my love. You never put on weight when you eat, and I find your appetite to be endearing." I soothed, leaning over to place a kiss on her temple. She hummed in contentment, sparing me a loving smile before returning her attention to her food.

"I'll be happy when you two leave…" Adrian muttered, a look of disgust living on his face, though his eyes gleamed with happiness. I wasn't sure if his happiness was caused by Roza's happiness or because our departure meant he would be alone with Sydney. Either way, I wasn't going to respond to his statement, mostly because I didn't really know how other than with a withered look.

"You know you're going to miss this, Ivashkov." Roza quipped while gesturing to her body.

"It will be hard not having your beautiful face around here, but I think I'll be able to survive as long as Sage doesn't leave, too," Adrian responded with an overexaggerated wink. Sydney scoffed in response what Roza gave a half-hearted glare.

"I don't know what to do with myself now that I'm not the only beautiful woman in your life." Roza huffed, slumping in her chair. Sydney looked extremely uncomfortable with their exchange, but I could also see a slight blush creeping up her neck.

"You have the Russian, you don't need me," Adrian responded raising an eyebrow.

"I have a name, you know?" I interjected, though they both ignored me. I felt a little better when Sydney rolled her eyes at me, however.

"He doesn't put as much sass and uninhibited emotions into his sarcastic comments. His sarcasm is dry, but at least I've got him to make sarcastic remarks now. It's a huge step up from when I first met him." Roza pointed out looking rather proud of herself.

"At least I didn't try to beat you up when we first met. I was trying to be civil and then, you being you, had to bring violence in the mix." I noted in my 'dry' sarcastic way.

"Hey! That's so not fair. I was trying to protect Lissa!" Roza exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"And you did your job. I was doing mine." I noted, sitting back with my arms crossed over my chest. She narrowed her eyes at me, but I could see that she wasn't going to fight this pointless battle.

"Speaking of jobs," Sydney began, breaking the staring contest that Roza and I were having, "do we know how we're going to accomplish this?"

"I'm not sure how much planning you can do on your end, but Roza and I will go see if we can find her given the Alchemists' information is up-to-date and accurate. We'll subdue her there and see if we can extract the information we need from her as a Strigoi, then we'll bring her safely back here for Adrian to restore her, hopefully. If all goes well, we'll be able to look into any information we gather while talking to Sonya while she's getting more adjusted with you and Adrian. I'm hoping because you both are Spirit users, you'll be able to relate more to each other than either Roza or I will." I explained, hoping that the plan was detailed enough because I really didn't know how things were going to play out.

I knew from experience that things rarely worked out the way that I planned, so I suppose I was taking a page from Roza's book and not really planning anything, just a basic outline. It seemed to work better for her than any of my planning had for me.

"Sounds good to me." Roza chirped while rubbing her hands together enthusiastically.

"Wait. You want to leave a newly restored Moroi in my capable and his not-so-capable hands? We don't even know how long you'll be gone should Sonya decide it's in her best interest to give you the information she may or may not have. We don't even know that she knows who this mystery mistress is, let alone who their child might be. She might not even know she's the POD on the account." Sydney reasoned, being much less flexible than Roza.

"No, but we know that we can find her, probably, and that she might have the information that we need. If she has the information that we need, fantastic. If she doesn't, we get to reunite two lovers, one of which thinks he's lost the other for all eternity." Roza explained, making me more determined to find Sonya.

"Are you guys going to leave before or after I figure out how to charm a stake to stake a Strigoi?" Adrian questioned, looking kind of hopeful, but I couldn't tell if the hope was for us to leave sooner or later. My bet was on the latter.

"Do you need us to stay with you until we figure it out?" Roza answered his question with a question of her own.

"I'd appreciate a little bit of instruction on how to properly stake a Strigoi. It doesn't need to be intensive or anything, but I'll need to know how to reach the heart." Adrian said with a grateful looking shrug.

"Then, we'll plan to leave in a week's time. We'll dream walk with Oksana tonight, and we'll start the physical work tomorrow whenever you decide to wake up." I stated with finality. I didn't know what to do for the rest of the day, though. It wasn't like we had anything we _could_ be doing.

If we were leaving in a week, we had plenty of time to plan out the more specific details of the plan. At least, that would have been my course of action. I doubt, though, that Roza would have thought any more about the vague plan that I had laid out.

I suppose I could use Google Earth and find the house, or possible houses, that Sonya is residing in to make our search a little less intensive, but if I was going to do that, I'd probably wait a few more days.

"A week will be more than enough time." Roza declared, nodding her head in agreeance.

"Soo…Is this the part where we all sit around and start asking each other 'what now?'" Adrian asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Maybe this is the part where you start your silent meditation," Sydney suggested in a sweet voice while batting her eyelashes in Adrian's direction before her face turned serious. "You know, so we don't have to listen to you anymore."

"That's harsh, Sage," Adrian muttered looking slightly offended when Sydney and Roza shared a hearty laugh.

"That was not harsh, and you know it." Roza quipped when she'd gain control of her laughter. "Come on, Ivashkov, let's go do some yoga."

She and Adrian rose from the table and moved outside. The sun was still high in the sky from what I could tell by glancing out the window, but the shade on the porch provided them with enough protection for Adrian to be alright.

I could still hear the unamused grumblings of Adrian as the door closed while Roza tried to stifle her giggles.

"Are you going to be alright being alone with him?" I asked in a serious tone once the door was finally shut. "I know you've grown accustomed to living with us Dhampirs without too much trouble, but he is a Moroi. I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation by leaving you alone with him."

"I'll be fine, Dimitri. While I'm not too keen on the idea of spending God knows how long with him, I'll find a way to distract either him or myself if I find I can't handle it. Besides, because you'll most likely be bringing back a Strigoi with you, and you'll need to remain inconspicuous, you won't be taking the motorcycle. If need be, I can just take Sasha away for a few hours to clear my head and keep me from killing him."

"Roza's not going to be too happy about that," I muttered glancing toward the front door.

"About having to leave Sasha or me potentially killing Adrian?" Sydney asked with a smirk.

"I honestly think she'd be more upset about leaving Sasha than if you killed Adrian." I chuckled, standing to clean up the mess I'd created while making lunch and mess Roza had created by consuming it.

"What's he like?" Sydney asked in a quiet voice as I turned my back, my hands occupied with dirty dishes.

"Who? Adrian?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder to see her nod. "He's a lot better now than when I first met him. I think part of that was the Darkness. It takes a lot out of a person, and before meeting Roza, he didn't really manage it really well. I suppose that Roza helped him understand that he could deal with it on his own without needing cigarettes or alcohol, not that he doesn't still use them, he just doesn't abuse them anymore.

"He's really good at reading people, and it's hard to hide things from him. Not only does he know when you're lying, he likes to have any information that could possibly lead to gossip. Most people would call him arrogant, and he is confident, but more in the sense that your opinion of him isn't exactly what he cares about. I think he truly cares about Roza's opinion of him because Roza wants him to be the best him he can be, if that makes sense. But make no mistake, he's a flirt if I've ever seen one."

"Don't worry, I won't let myself be fooled." Sydney scoffed, though the note in her voice hinted to something entirely different.

"Don't be afraid to let him get close, Sydney," I said softly. "He's a loyal friend and one of the more honest people you'll ever meet. He's a good person, and he's trying to get better."

"Is Rose helping with that?" She asked after a few moments of quiet contemplation.

"I'm sure she'd like to think she is, and I'm sure that he thinks she is, but Roza isn't the person Adrian needs to become a better person," I stated after replaying the progress Adrian had made in the short while of being friends with Roza.

"Then who is?"


	36. Chapter 36

"I'll beat you both apart!" She screamed once again. "I'll take you both together!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Roza stated rolling her eyes. The flailing Strigoi in the back seat not causing her the slightest disturbance, other than her constant yelling, of course. "You've been using the same four lines since we stuffed you in this car. 'I'll kill you for this!' 'You'll regret the day you were born!' 'I'll take you both together!' You'd think after all these hours you'd have created something more original to threaten us with."

"Release me from your magic and I'll make good on my threats," Sonya growled once more. I, personally, was getting more and more annoyed by her routine threats. I would have thought she'd wear herself out by speaking almost nonstop, but I suppose with the quick healing of a Strigoi she never wore out her vocal cords, much to our disappointment.

"Now, where would the fun in that be? I enjoy watching you struggle more. Besides, I think you've been enough of a hassle for us. In the time it took for us to extract any useful information from you, we could have had this whole ordeal done and dusted." Roza commented nonchalantly, a sweet smile living on her face.

"Roza, if you stop talking to her, maybe she'll be quiet for once," I mumbled, knowing full well that Sonya could still hear what I said. Even if she was starved for a few days, she was still Strigoi.

"We tried that already, Comrade," Roza said, looking over to give me an exasperated look. "In case you forgot, it didn't work. Case in point."

Her hand waved toward the back where Sonya was now directing her venom on me specifically. It seemed that my comment to have her be quiet didn't sit well with her.

"We haven't tried in a while, maybe it will work this time." I offered, reaching in between us to turn the music up. While it did drown out some of the screaming, it also caused her to scream louder.

"I don't think it's working!" Roza yelled out above the music and the screeching Strigoi.

"We only have a couple more hours until we reach the cabin!" I yelled back, knowing the headache that was building from the steady drumming of the bass wasn't going to get better for the next two hours.

 _"They'll probably hear us coming from miles away at this rate."_ Roza pushed through the bond. Her soft voice was soothing to my mind, and the headache eased slightly.

 _"Then she'll be Adrian's problem to deal with."_ I scoffed receiving a slight chastising gaze from Roza. _"You know I'm kidding. We'll hold her down, and I'll probably help get her adjusted after the transformation. However, I honestly think that another Spirit user will do her some good when she's back."_

 _"I agree, but I also think she's going to need someone who's been through what she's gone through. You're the only one that has lived that life and come back from it. She needs to see that she_ can _come back from it. That there's hope."_

With a small smile on my face, I reached over with one hand to take bring her hand up to my lips for a loving kiss. Over the blaring music and the screaming Strigoi, I heard a contented sigh escape her lips as we rode the rest of the way in silence.

Pulling up to the cabin, Sonya started in on another loud rant about killing us.

"If you were going to kill me, you should have done it in my own home!" She screamed, thrashing about like a fish out of water. "Isn't it a little cliché to kill me in a cabin in the middle of the woods?"

"Why would that be cliché?" Roza asked, whirling around in her seat, her eyes narrowing in careful observation.

"Don't cabins have a little significance to the two of you?" Sonya questioned, her voice sounding too innocent for a Strigoi, but her smile gave a sinister feeling that tingled down my spine.

"How could you possibly know that?" Roza asked, her eyes narrowing further as she tried to connect the dots.

"Don't worry, dear, I wasn't there. I just heard through the grapevine that you two were fooling around before the attack on St. Vladimir's, and that's why there was more than enough time to breach the wards."

"That's not true," I growled, feeling Roza's unease growing. "We were not to blame for that attack. It was an unfortunate sequence of events that let the Strigoi breach the wards that night."

"You keep telling yourself that," Sonya grumbled menacingly, and she finally stopped talking, looking at the house when we stopped. Sydney and Adrian were already making their way out of the cabin, Adrian's arm out pushing Sydney back behind him.

I expected Adrian to be wearing her down while we were away, but I didn't think that he'd make that much progress. To my surprise, Sydney was clinging to him just as much as he was clinging to her.

 _"I figured it wouldn't take very long once we were out of the cabin_ ," Roza mumbled in my mind.

 _"Is he really that persistent?"_ I asked, opening the door for her.

 _"Well…yes, but they're also made for each other. If you know people like I do, Comrade, you start to recognize who is meant to be with who quite early on."_ Roza said, giving me a knowing look.

 _"Fair enough,"_ I said rolling my eyes. She chuckled at me before giving me a questioning look. I nodded my head and straightened myself as I stood behind her, ready to catch a fleeing Strigoi if it should come to that.

With a piercing scream, Sonya leapt from the back seat, her hands still bound in Darkness. She sent a threatening glare at Roza before trying to rush off to the woods. I could hear Roza grumbling about why Strigoi always run before she snaked out a thin vine of Darkness to wrap around Sonya's ankle, bringing her escape to a swift end with a solid thump as she hit the ground face-first.

I heard a groan come from Sonya as she rolled over on her back and huffed in annoyance.

"If you're going to kill me, just kill me already. I'm tired of playing this game." She snarled as Roza and I came to stand above her. I chuckled as Roza rolled her eyes.

"We're not going to kill you, Ms. Karp." She stated simply, using her Darkness to lift the now struggling Strigoi from the ground and bring her in front of the steps leading up the porch.

"You ready, Adrian?" I asked, observing the not-so-casual distance that Sydney and Adrian had placed between themselves. I could see that Adrian was startled by my question as he shook his head to center his focus on me.

"Oh, yeah. Give me a minute to charm the stake first. I'll be right back." He replied, quickly disappearing into the cabin, Sydney following the movement with her eyes.

"So, you are going to kill me," Sonya muttered pensively. Roza ignored her.

"So, Sage. What have you two been up to in our weeks away?" Roza asked, her eyebrows raised in a suggestive manner. Sydney's blush was the answer she was looking for.

"I promise we'll talk about it later, but for right now, can we focus on the Strigoi?" She asked, the blush still on her cheeks, but as her eyes fell upon Sonya, the color drained from her face. "I had no idea that our simulations were actually so life-like. I figured that they were toned down."

"Syd, you've seen dead Strigoi up close and personal." Roza pointed out. "You've also been there to see them in their real undead life."

"Yeah, but that's not what I really remember. By the time I get to them in the field, they're bloody and dismembered. That's what sticks with me. When we programmed them to look like actual people, I thought they were making it easier for the Guardians later on to come to terms with killing someone who looks so lifelike."

"I'll try to make my kills a little cleaner, so you can see how they are as one constant timeline, one not marred by blood." Roza offered, her eyes rolling and her head shaking.

"I'd rather keep thinking about them in a bloody, anatomical way. It makes my job easier." Sydney said, her eyes never once leaving Sonya, who was returning the favor, until Adrian walked out.

The red-rimmed eyes flicked over to the Moroi, and she scoffed when her eyes landed on the object he was carrying. The silver stake glinted in the moonlight as Adrian shifted it in his palm uncomfortably. The air around it was buzzing. Either I'm more in tune with the elements now, or he infused a lot of Spirit into the stake, and from the look on his face, the stake was infused with a lot of Spirit.

"Alright, I'm ready." Adrian declared as his hand tightened around the hilt of the stake.

His eyes were wide, and his pupils dilated. He looked slightly deranged, but as I felt Roza's calmness grow, Adrian's shoulders relax, and his face smoothed over into his signature smirk. "Thanks, Little Dhampir."

"Any time, Adrian. Whenever you're ready, she's not going anywhere." Roza said, gesturing to the obviously struggling Strigoi. Sonya's head thrashed about, her fingers twitching, but her arms stayed pinned by her sides.

Her legs were bound tightly with a thick coil of Darkness. A gap in the Darkness surrounding her chest appeared. It was the precise place where Adrian had to drive the stake through to pierce the heart.

With one last adjustment in the hilt of the stake, Adrian raised his hand slightly above his head, his eyes trained on the mark Roza had left for him. I could see his chest heaving as he took the first step down the porch.

"You really think this weak Moroi is going to be able to get that stake through my chest?" Sonya chuckled, throwing her head back as she directed her amusement to the dark night.

"I wouldn't underestimate him." Sydney sneered as she leaned against the railing surrounding the porch. Adrian looked over his shoulder at her, and she gave him an encouraging smile.

Sucking in a shaky breath, Adrian raised his arm once more, a look of pure determination plastered on his face. His eyes were still trained on the gap in Darkness on Sonya's chest as he descended the remaining two steps.

Roza shifted slightly behind Sonya, her arms extended slightly to catch her when Adrian plunged the stake into her chest. Sonya was still spouting insults and death threats until the last moments. Her scream pierced the night's still silence as the brilliant white light burst from the hole in Sonya's chest.

Not only did I have to shield my eyes from the light, but it erupted from the chest wound with such force that I stumbled back a foot or two before regaining my balance. There was a moment of silence before my ears started to ring as the light began to dim.

When the light vanished completely, Roza was cradling both Sonya and Adrian as they clung to each other at the base of the stairs. Sydney was trying to regain her bearings from her spot on the porch, her arms wrapped tightly around the railing.

The ringing in my ears was quickly replaced by sobbing. Growing up in a house full of women, I knew the different kinds of sobbing. There was a sob for a bad break up, a sob for bad grades, a sob for a lost job, a sob for the lack of sleep, really a sob for anything that could go wrong. But I'd never heard this kind of sob before. The amount of heartache that was condensed in this sob was overwhelming.

Roza released Sonya as Adrian quickly pulled her into his arms. Despite Adrian's soothing embrace and comforting words, Sonya's sobs increased in tempo and frequency. Roza backed further away from the pair, and I quickly moved to help her up from the ground.

"Are you alright?" I asked quietly, my eyes skimming over her features to make sure not one hair was out of place.

"I'm fine, Comrade. You should be worrying about Sonya." She muttered, though the small smile that took over her face told me that my concern was appreciated. She shifted on her feet, a troubled expression crossing her face before she turned back to me. "What was it like, coming back?"

"Overwhelming." I started, thinking about how to explain it. "There isn't really a way to describe what it was like to be brought back. There was a moment that I wasn't sure if I should have been grateful or angry that I was restored instead of being killed."

"Really?" She asked, her eyes widening in shock and disbelief.

"Yeah. I'm not sure that everyone would feel that way. No matter what, the time as a Strigoi is going to haunt her. There's no way that all the bad you do as a Strigoi won't haunt you. I, however, did so much in the time I was a Strigoi that I didn't think that I would be capable of living with my past actions, regardless of them not being under my control. I'm not sure if Sonya had ever done something as horrible as I had done, but I think she'll probably have an easier time coming back from this."

"What makes you say that?" Roza asked, her eyes turning back to Sonya, the sobs having almost vanished by this time.

"She'll have you," I stated plainly.

"You had me, but you still had a hard time adjusting." Roza pointed out, raising her eyebrows to further her point.

"I had a hard time because I pushed you away. If I'd let you help me heal, let you do what you do best, I would have had a much easier time." I explained. "Sonya will have you. She'll have me, and she'll have Adrian. She'll adjust just fine."

Roza smiled up at me before turning her attention back to Sonya and Adrian. Adrian was looking up at Roza with an imploring look. She stepped forward slowly, kneeling down next to them. Sonya flinched away momentarily before looking up at Roza, her eyes shining with tears.

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed, launching herself at Roza, who caught her and held her close.

"It's alright. It wasn't you. You've nothing to apologize for." Roza said in her soothing voice. I felt Roza slowly pulling all the negative from Sonya. Not enough to alert her to Roza's ability, but enough to calm her down and see the truth in Roza's words.

"Why did you bring me back?" Sonya asked, pulling back from Roza and looking at Adrian.

"We weren't going to at first." Adrian started, earning a glare from Roza. "However, Rose knew that you were special to someone and wanted to make sure you two got reconnected. It also helped that you had information on who the missing Dragomir was."

"Oh my gosh! Is Jill alright?" Sonya asked, leaping up from her stop between the two, looking between all four of us. Her sudden movement caused Sydney to flinch, though if Sonya saw it, she chose not to look guilty because of it.

"As far as we know. We haven't gone to check on her, but we will as soon as you're settled." Roza explained, getting up and placing a calming hand on her shoulder, pulling come negative emotions as she did it. Sonya sagged in relief.

"Do you mind if I go with you?" She asked sheepishly.

"I'm not sure that's such a great idea," Roza said slowly, her eyes meeting mine over her shoulder. I also thought it not the best idea, but I didn't want to instill a sense of doubt in Sonya.

"But I can help!" Sonya exclaimed, turning her whole body toward Roza and gripping her hands earnestly. "Jill knows who I am, and Emily knows who I am. I'll be able to convince both of them that they should go to Court. It will be easier for Jill if I'm there to tell her the news. I'll be able to persuade Emily to do the right thing and tell Jill who her real father is."

"They both know you turned years ago. It could scare them more if you just showed up on their doorstep." Roza reasoned, though I could see that Sonya was making points that even Roza couldn't dispute for long.

"Then we go during the day. It's the summer, and they live on a mostly human timetable. If I show up during the middle of the day, there's no way that they won't believe I've been restored. Besides, if we're also bringing Dimitri, they'll know it's possible to be restored" Sonya countered, looking more and more sure of herself.

Roza stayed silent, unmoving. Sonya's face still held hope, though it started to fade the longer Roza stayed silent. Roza's hands gripped Sonya's tighter as she pulled her closer, lowering her voice as she questioned Sonya's motives.

"Why do you really want to go with us, Sonya? You know how persuasive we can be. You already know that we know Jill from St. Vladimir's. They know Strigoi can be restored, and Dimitri will be proof enough. Why do you really want to do this?" She asked, the soothing tone returning to her voice. Sonya's hopeful face cracked before she answered.

"I need to make sure I can interact with people from my past life. I need to know that I can do it without feeling the same demon that I felt during my entire time as Strigoi. I need to make sure it's really gone." Sonya answered, looking Roza dead in the eyes before they flicked up to meet mine over Roza's shoulder. "I need to know Mikhail will be safe when I return to him."

I felt understanding and sympathy flood Roza's entire being. While Roza didn't understand what it was like to come back from being a Strigoi, but she does know what it is like coming back from a demonized version of yourself. Before giving in to the Darkness, when Roza was overcome by it, she always felt like it was her fault for wanting to destroy as much as she did.

She used to blame herself for something she didn't have control over, but then she understood where I was coming from and saw what she was doing as hypocritical. She still takes too much blame on her shoulders.

"Alright. I think it will do you some good to come with us, but I don't think we'll be going any time soon. We'll give it a week before we discuss more about this." Roza stated, giving Sonya's hands another gentle squeeze. Sonya looked grateful, more than before, and pulled Roza into a tight embrace.

"Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you so much."

"There's nothing to thank. It's our job to help those who need it, and you need help. We're going to help you."

"You make it your job, Rose," Sonya said, pulling back with a large smile on her face. Her eyes glazed over in a look I could only describe as Spirit Madness. "It's who you are that lends itself to what you do. If you weren't such a kind and caring person, you wouldn't help half the people you do. You're truly a one-of-a-kind person."

"You Spirit users are something else," Sydney muttered, turning on her heels to head back inside. Sonya's eyes came back to the present moment and her smile made her entire being glow with warmth.

Roza returned her smile before ushering Adrian and Sonya inside after Sydney. Taking her hand in mine, I pulled her into my arms and gently brushed my lips against hers, earning a soft sigh from her.

"You really are a one-of-a-kind person, Roza," I muttered before losing myself in her kisses.


	37. Chapter 37

**Epilogue**

"Where are we going again?" Roza asked, her head lulling to one side in boredom as we continued on our journey. I think that this was the fourth time that she'd asked. I'm wondering how many more times she's going to ask again before we stop answering.

"We're going back to Montana. There's been word that Strigoi are amassing again. Larger numbers than the first time. Apparently, they only call us if Strigoi are amassing in numbers greater than a hundred." Pavel answered, and the Guardian beside him, Kanon, scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

I felt Roza smile beside me at his actions.

"I think I'm going to like you, Kanon," Roza said, her smile bright as the burly Guardian turned around in his seat with a large smile.

"I already like you, Little Bit." He said with a wink. A growl erupted from my throat before I had a chance to quiet it. I could feel the Light bubbling at the surface, begging to be let free, but with the slightest touch of Roza's hand on my arm, I calmed completely.

"Sorry, he gets a little testy when males give me too much attention," Roza said, raising up slightly from her seat to give me a kiss on the cheek. I, however, turned my head quickly to capture her lips in a searing kiss, you know, to prove my point. She eagerly returned my passion as she tangled her fingers in my hair. I wanted to pull her closer to me, but the seatbelt was preventing me from doing such.

"Alright, Belikov, I think he gets the idea. She's off limits, now, retract your tongue from her throat." Pavel growled in a fatherly tone, forcing me to break the kiss far before I wanted to.

"Come on Pavel, we weren't even doing anything that was obscene," Roza grumbled.

"I'm pretty sure he was about to do something obscene if I hadn't have stopped him," Pavel said sternly, his sharp eyes reprimanding me through the mirror. I felt like a teenager again, getting caught making out with the daughter in the back seat of the car. Not that I'd done that before.

Kanon looked a little put out by our display, but Roza was satisfied if her sigh was any indication, even if she did seem annoyed with Pavel's overprotectiveness. He turned back to the front with a huff but stayed quiet.

It had been two years since we'd brought Jill back to Court and got Lissa her spot on the Council. In the first four months on the Council, Lissa fought tooth and nail to get Guardian hunting parties approved by the Moroi Council before it was proposed to the Guardians. Hans was all for it, but it took a little more convincing for other Guardians to get behind it.

There was a huge issue as to where the hunting parties would go. Would they stay just around Court or would they travel to places that were more heavily populated? Would they be sent by the Alchemists using the system they use to keep track of Strigoi numbers? Would they be sent to where there were more reports about Strigoi attacks?

All the logistics had to be worked out by Lissa, with the help of Roza and myself, before the Guardians could start planning what an actual hunting party would consist of and do. Despite being thrust into the Moroi legislation system, Jill was holding her own and providing support and feedback for whatever Lissa was dealing with at the moment.

The two of them were still trying to figure out their roles as sisters, half-sisters, but it helped more when they both looked at it as friends helping friends. It also didn't hurt having Roza there to mediate for a bit, that and Christian's support for Lissa and his growing friendship with Jill.

After we'd made sure that Jill was settled at Court, we had completed our mission, and Roza and I returned to New York to continue hunting. Well, Roza wanted to return to the city and keep hunting. I was happy to follow her anywhere. Manhattan was now the safest place for Moroi to visit outside of Court, all thanks to Roza's mission to rid the city of Strigoi one nightclub at a time.

She was known by many names amongst the Strigoi, both in the city and around the nation. Dark Temptress, Angel of Darkness, Soul Reaper. I think her favorite was just Darkness. She thought it fitting. Most of the time they only referred to Roza when talking about the avenging Darkness, but I was always there, right beside her.

After losing her so many times, there wasn't a chance in this world or the next that I was leaving her side. Not even death could stop true love, and she was mine. We roamed the streets of New York almost every night, making sure it was safe. I was pretty sure that Roza was going to move locations soon because the number of Strigoi had dropped so drastically.

I wasn't too surprised when Adrian decided that he was going to follow us, mostly Sydney, back to the city for a long-term stay, but I was surprised that Jasper was alright with it.

"I've got to say that she was never this happy when she was with me." He told me once, watching to two as they sat in the sand. Everyone in the house seemed to get along fine with Adrian, and Abe enjoyed having another kindred soul around, both in personality and being a Moroi. I forget sometimes that Abe is a Moroi and has surrounded himself with Dhampirs.

He isn't like other Moroi. He doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, prefers it actually, so he gets along fine in the rough and tumble of the Guardian life.

Once the hunting parties were approved by both Councils, the queen personally invited Roza back to Court to help assemble and train the first hunting party. She was on the fence about it, but she also knew she'd made a promise to Lissa to come back and help start the hunting program. After discussing it with me, we traveled back to Court, much to Lissa's delight.

I could tell the Roza was having a wonderful time being back with her friends, but she was doing it on her own terms and not as a Guardian. Well, in a sense she wasn't a Guardian. She wasn't a traditional Guardian, she was Roza.

I had a feeling that once the hunting parties were more firmly planted at Court, Roza would want to go back to her own team hunts in a large city. We'd cleaned up New York enough for it to be safe again, but there were plenty of cities out there that could use a year's worth of scum removal courtesy of Roza.

Our hunting party, the first one ever, consisted of Roza, Pavel, two Palace Guardians Erik and Nathanial, and myself. We mainly focused around the area of Court, hunting smaller more efficient groups of Strigoi that stalked the roads leading to Court for when Moroi left the wards. With the success of the first hunting party, more were formed from volunteer Guardians, still approved by Roza and myself. There were three other hunting parties that were larger, and we tended to help out with the large hunts also, but we liked to stay in the area around Court.

Lissa was currently trying to get Moroi to be involved in the hunting parties, but that was harder to sell to the Moroi Council than to the Guardian Council. The Guardians had been pushing for Moroi to aid in fighting Strigoi for decades, and we were once again voicing our support, not that they were really listening to us. With the help of Christian and Jill, the idea of Moroi offensive magic was quickly gaining ground, though, especially with the younger generations.

In the middle of our first year back at Court, the Dirty Dozen was called upon the first time. Somewhere near the Canadian/American border, Strigoi were teaming up to target travelers entering and exiting the two countries. During that battle, two members were killed before the team could either take the Strigoi down or send them running.

I replaced one of the two dead team members, much to Roza's chagrin. She didn't want me there because it would put me in harm's way, but I didn't want her there because it would put her in harm's way. With both of us there, we could keep an eye on each other, and we always did work better together. While it didn't make her feel any better having me there, it made me feel better being there to watch her back.

Kanon replaced the second one, and this was the second time in a year that we had been called upon because of the excess number of Strigoi gather in one place. At first, the rest of the Dozen, other than Pavel of course, mocked Roza because she was so young. It also didn't help that she was the only female member of the Dozen. Due to the already sparse number of female Guardians, not many females surpassed males in fighting efficacy, but after seeing Roza fight, the team knew her to be the most formidable opponent amongst them all.

That's why we were on the road. We were heading back to St. Vladimir's. The twelve of us had split into three cars, Kanon drawing the short stick and being stuck in the car with the three people that were already a family.

While the Dirty Dozen worked extremely well together, mostly due to their experience in the field, we didn't really know each other that well nor did we complement each other's fighting styles, other than Roza and me, of course. The Alchemists don't call on us that often, but when they do, it's because something horrible is about to happen.

"Where are you usually assigned, Kanon?" Pavel asked, glancing back at me through the rearview mirror. I suppose he thought if I knew the man better, I'd be more inclined to get along with him. Highly unlikely.

"I'm a private hire. I'm usually hired by Moroi to accompany them on their more clandestine meetings." He provided, a smirk crossing his face as he skirted around his usual workplace setting.

"You're a promised Guardian, and you hire yourself out as a discrete bodyguard for Moroi that like to go to strip clubs instead of home to their wives?" Roza asked in an unamused tone. I could feel the disgust growing in her. It seemed that she might not like Kanon after all.

"That's exactly what I do, Little Bit, and I enjoy every minute of it. It gives me an excuse to go to the strip clubs without looking like a complete pig. My job is to make sure the Moroi don't get killed by Strigoi, but that doesn't mean I can't look and touch in the meantime." Kanon said, looking a little too pleased with himself.

"You'll find someone one of these days that will make you leave that life behind," Roza muttered, leaning her head on my shoulder. While I found that hard to believe, I also didn't think I'd meet anyone that made me question my job, my duty, but she was sitting right beside me.

"How far out are we, Pavel?" I asked after kissing her temple.

"We've got an hour or two more. The Alchemist say that they're still gathering around the St. Vladimir areas, but they don't know what they could be planning other than an attack on the school." Pavel said.

"Why do they always target St. Vladimir's? Why can't they target a Moroi school somewhere cool, like St. Basil's? I wouldn't mind going back to Russia, and I'm sure that the Belikovs would be thrilled to see us." Roza said, looking up at me with bright eyes.

"We'll discuss a trip out there when we get back to Court," I said, answering her unasked question. She gave me one of her breathtaking smiles before closing her eyes and leaning her head on my shoulder again.

"Should we be concerned that this is the second time we've been called upon in the last year?" Pavel asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I wouldn't be too concerned about it. We've been making a noticeable dent in the Strigoi population in the past couple of years, they were bound to get smart eventually and start working together. The larger groupings call for larger targets, and other than Court, the largest population of Moroi are the schools." Roza answered, her eyes still closed as she tried to rest before having to be at full functioning capacity.

"Why not attack human populations?" Kanon asked. I suppose that he spent the majority of his career in human locations. Humans were plentiful, but they didn't taste anywhere near as delightful as a Dhampir, and they couldn't hold a candle to Moroi blood, especially royals.

"Strigoi are addicts, too. They get hooked on Moroi blood. If they had Moroi blood in the early feedings of their undead life, they're not going to want anything else. Human blood is necessary for survival sometimes, but if you're working in a large group to acquire Moroi blood, there's no reason to turn it down." I answered, only feeling slightly bad about my response.

Kanon turned his head to raise an eyebrow at me, but Roza's eyes snapped open to give him a harsh glare. His face lost any accusation that he was about to throw my way, and his gaze returned to the road in front of us.

 _"And you say I'm the testy one."_ I chuckled in her mind. She lightly swatted me with the back of her hand before she relaxed back into me.

 _"You know you love it."_ She grumbled lightheartedly.

"Alberta is going to meet us once we arrive," Pavel informed us, looking back at Roza with a kind smile. I could feel Roza's excitement grow at the mention of the much-missed Guardian. "She'll have rooms ready for us, and hopefully we can rest a bit before we start looking at logistics. The Alchemists should still be sending over their reports."

"I can't wait," Roza said with a broad smile. Her eyes were shining bright, and I think she forgot our real purpose for going back to St. Vladimir's, but Kanon wouldn't let her forget.

"Are you really that excited to fight Strigoi?" He asked, giving her an incredulous look.

"I mean, yes, but I'm more excited to see Alberta," Roza answered in a serious tone.

"What is wrong with you?" Kanon asked, his eyebrows furrowed in utter confusion.

"You mean you don't like ridding this world of Strigoi?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Fighting Strigoi means you're fighting Death." Kanon deadpanned, his eyes wide as he looked back and forth between Roza and me.

"We've fought Death before, and we've come out the other side unscathed. It also helps that we have an advantage that the rest of you don't have." Roza said with a shrug. I chuckled as Kanon's eyebrows drew further together when Roza mentioned our advantage.

Before he could ask the question that I could tell was on the tip of his tongue, Roza slowly sent out a dark tendril and laughed as Kanon tried to scramble back, hitting his head on the roof of the car in the process. Hoping to get all the fear out at once, I reached out to tangle my own bright tendril around hers.

If possible, his eyes grew wider in disbelief. Pavel couldn't hold back his laughter any longer and neither could I. Kanon looked between the three of us as if we'd lost our minds. Roza and I pulled our magic back in us, and Kanon relaxed slightly in his seat.

"Would you like to explain what that was?" He asked in a shaky voice. It was comical, to say the least, to see the burly Guardian as shaken as he was. It wasn't like he hadn't seen magic before, but he'd never seen it out of two Dhampirs.

"That," Pavel cut in as his laughter quieted to just chuckling, "was why these two are so good at what they do."

"I was bound to Princess Vasilisa for a few years, meaning she brought me back from the dead. I died in the same crash that killed her family, but she was only able to bring me back. As a part of the bond, I took the crazy that builds up from being a Spirit user. When I tapped into that crazy, I found this." Roza explained, swirling her Darkness around her. Kanon seemed to follow so I jumped in with my own explanation.

"After I was restored, I connected with Roza, well, reconnected with her. She really brought me back to life, which in a way provided me with my own sort of magic." I said, swirling my Light around Roza's Darkness. "Roza died a couple years ago during a particularly nasty battle involving both Strigoi and Guardians. A rogue Guardian shot her, and she died. Because of our connection and the magic she'd gifted me, only accessible through the restorative process mind you, I was able to bring her back as she had me. We're bonded now, and she's no longer bound to the princess."

"So, what you're saying is that no one else has this ability?" Kanon stated after starring at us for a few silent minutes. I could see that we were getting closer to the academy, and I was looking forward to seeing some of my old colleagues again.

"Not unless you want to go through a long and painful process, and I wouldn't even suggest that." Roza quipped as she shuddered at the memories.

"There's also no guarantee that it would work again," Pavel added, adding to the fact that it wasn't something to experiment with.

"I wasn't suggesting that we replicate, I was mearing pondering if it could be researched and possibly used to our advantage," Kanon said, holding his hands up in a defensive manner. Roza narrowed her eyes at him again, but she let it go, though I think it was mostly because the gates of St. Vladimir's were peeking over the horizon.

Being the middle of the Moroi night, we didn't have to worry about Strigoi on the road, nor did we have to be fussed about unwanted attention. Looking behind us, I could see the two other cars that were tailing us winding their way down the long drive.

"Welcome back, Comrade," Roza said with a dazzling smile as Pavel stopped to talk to the gate attendant.

As we pulled up in front of the Guardian Building, Alberta was already there waiting for us. I could practically see her bouncing on the balls of her feet as the car pulled to a stop, but before Pavel could put the car into park, Roza had flung the door open and rushing into the waiting arms of the head Guardian.

"It's so good to see you, Alberta." I heard Roza mumble as I climbed out of the car to greet my former boss myself.

"It's great to have you back, Rose." Alberta smiled and pulled her closer. "It's also great that you brought Belikov back. However, from what I've heard, you two should have been back years ago."

"Sorry about that, Alberta, Roza never likes to do what's expected of her." I laughed, and Alberta released Roza only to pull me into an equally tight hug.

"Don't blame this on me!" Roza exclaimed in mock offense.

Alberta laughed and greeted both Pavel and Kanon along with the other eight members of our team.

"You guys have got some time before we need to start preparing. Go get some sleep and we'll start in the morning." Alberta said kindly, handing each of us a set of keys, other than Roza and me. "Well, our morning. We'll meet in the conference room."

Roza and I bid her goodnight and retired to our room for the remainder of the night, getting as much sleep as we could before the event of tomorrow really started. I didn't know what to expect from the growing Strigoi in the area. I didn't know if I would once again need to defend the school that I'd died trying to protect.

However, I did know that I was going to do it with Roza by my side. She was my soul mate and the only person that could bring me back from the dead, quite literally. She balanced me as I did her. Two sides of the same coin, working together to accomplish the impossible, like bringing down an entire Strigoi army.

She is the Darkness to my Light.

* * *

 _That's a wrap, folks!_

 _Thanks again for sticking with me (for those of you who happened to join early on) and jumping on board when you did (for those of you who found me a little later). I truly appreciate all your kind words (I know I say that a lot but I truly mean it)._

 _I've got like four stories in the works as of right now, but none of them are even close to being finished. I've made a resolution to become more disciplined and not start posting a story until I have it complete (less stress for me and faster updates for you)._

 _I hope you all have had a wonderful year thus far (hang in there if you haven't, things always get better). If y'all have any questions, comments, concerns, or just want to chat, feel free to PM me. Until then, I'll just be writing and writing and writing._

 _I'll see you in the next one!_

 _~Victoria_


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